Not Your Average Pirates
by Grand Imaginator
Summary: What happens when you turn magic into devil fruits, overpower a couple of things, and toss two legends into the same world? Look at the title. That is the title of the story that answers that question. Watch as Luffy gathers a crew with his best friends Natsu and Happy, kicking ass left and right to become King of the Pirates! Also, no adult content, just lots of swearing.
1. Where It Begins

**And hello to you all! Personally, I didn't think I'd ever do this, but I got bored, so I did. I'm not sure if this will finish, but I'm putting the other two stories I have on hold for now.**

 **To make things clear, this a OP/FT, as they call it, where it's in the One Piece world with said storyline and the Fairy tail characters are in it. The characters will not appear in the same order from main down and will not all be in the crew. Have that in mind. I may have a Poll one day to suggest a certain character, but other than that, it's up to what I'm deciding.**

 **The upload time, also, will be extremely varied. This alone took me about 3-4 days to make, so have that in mind. I have no idea what the difference in pace is going to be. Be prepared for quick or fairly late or even HIATUS notices. HIATUS is something I don't want to go through, but I usually think in my head the start of the adventure and a few different random scenes, and then run dry on ideas. I mean, that's what happened with the other two I had.**

 **Allow me to educate you on some shit;**

 **Oda Anger: White eyes with shark teeth. The traditional amusing One Piece facial expression.**

 **Oda Shock: Jaw dropped extremely low in shock or surprise. Eyes aren't bulging unless stated.**

 **Mashima Blank: Dots for eyes and an arrow pointing up for a mouth. Levy is the most common character to use this.**

 **Mashima Deadpan: sketched bold line for eyes closed whilst speaking. Deadpanning here will be either this or Mashima Blank, as it varies upon the situation.**

 **Any more of these ^^^ Will be stated at the beggining of a chapter.**

 **No pairings as of yet. Remember, this isn't a 'change fate' story like a time travel story.**

 **Mashima, Oda, thank you for making us two monsters!**

 **With that out of the way, let's start!**

* * *

Now, there were many kinds of oceans in different stories. There are ones in a magic sea with unique breeds of animals and magical abilities, regular seas with harsh encounters and scenes of nothing but gore amuck, and then there are ones that are in between, ones that have humain prospects with other inhuman abilities and conditions.

This one involves the latter.

In a sea known as the East Blue, we start around about 4-5 seagulls, of who are gliding across the ocean face… Well, a whirlpool to be more exact. Yep, like stated at the beginning…

Nearby this giant whirlpool, is a large ship with three masts, about maybe three quarters the size of a full galleon? Directly on the edge of the ship, on the Port side, are two men in light-coloured uniforms. They were white with a light blue around the neck and the same coloured stripes around the sleeves. They were wearing a fisherman type flat hat that wore a symbol, currently hard to make out, and a stripe below said symbol. They also wore navy-blue pants and light brown shoes.

They snapped out of their thoughts when they heard a slight collision sound from below them. They looked down into the water, only to see two large barrels floating near the cruiser ship, both enclosed.

* * *

Inside the large ship was that of a ballroom. Two story, fancy placement, chandelier, you name it, it was there. Throughout the first floor, of which the second was an overlook railing, were people dancing in fancy dresses and suits, along with people simply conversing and eating at nearby tables.

To the side was an orange haired girl with light brown eyes. She was looking out the window, also witnessing an island pass by.

"Excuse me." She turned around to see a man behind her offering her his hand. "Would the beautiful lady care to dance?" In response, she simply shrugged and held her hand out in acceptance.

* * *

Meanwhile on the second floor, a walking shortened cat shadow is seen on the walls.

"Curses, child, where did you go?" It muttered. It was evidently looking for someone.

As it turned a corner, so did someone else at the corner ahead, leading to the railing outside of the ship. It was a young girl with long blue straight hair. She was wearing a yellow dress with two navy blue horizontal stripes and pointed white edges at the bottom of the dress. She also wore blue shoes with white socks and attachments to her arms and ankles of which look like wings.

She was running around, appearing to be looking for someone herself. "Hello?" She asked. "Are you there?" When she then looked to her right, which was Stern, she saw something. Once she recognized what it was, she immediately squealed in fear and ran back inside.

* * *

Back outside, the men from before were attempting to fish out the barrels bellow them The larger man with darker skin tried swinging the hook around and swing around the barrel, only to miss and have it land into the water below, though still holding the rope.

The man groaned n disappointment. "I missed again."

"Strike three, pal." The slim man with slightly lighter skin next to him 'Encouraged'.

"I'd be embarrassed!" A man above them in the crows nest shouted to them below. "You're aiming's pathetic!" he mocked with a smile. He then stopped for a moment, looking over to his left. He thought he heard something for a second there.

Meanwhile, the other two men below were slowly pulling up one of the barrels, of which was finally caught on the hook.

"Man, this is heavier than I expected." The slimmer one remarked.

"It's probably filled with sake." The larger one thought out loud.

"Well, looks like we got a whole bunch of sake tonight!"

"How about we get the other one to so we get a barrel each?" They put the first barrel down.

"Alright then, let's get us some more sake!" As the slimmer man said that, he threw the hook, and failed like his friend beside him.

"AND YOU GUYS THINK I SUCK!" The larger man roared with an Oda Anger face.

The man in the crows' nest was shaking in fear, sweating profusely, and could hardly speak.

Coming in from behind the island from before was a ship, and this was no ordinary ship either… the ship itself was a hot pink coloured wood and had a large centre mast. The front headpiece was a duck or swan, hard to tell, and the ship itself had two hearts on both ends. As the sails dropped, they eached showed to have a pink-red heart on them.

The other flags, however, were Jolly Rogers, this of which was a sideways skull and crossbones, with a heart on the center point of the cranium.

The man in the crows' nest immediately turned to the other two, of who just got the second barrel from the water. "Ship off the Starboad-Bow!" He shouted toward them. The other two looked up. "It's got a Jolly Roger! Pirate Raid! Pirate Raid!" The other two immediately grew just as fearful and ran to tell their captain, of whom was back inside.

The Pirate ship started firing cannonballs, three at once, that landed directly around the cruiser. This didn't cause damage to the ship, but shocked almost everyone inside and rocked the boat, causing everyone to get a slight loss of balance.

"Captain!" The two workers slammed open the doors. "We're being raided by pirates!"

"What?!" The captain was shocked at this news.

The ship then shook again as a cannonball once again hit the nearby waters. The captain tried to get everyone to calm down and evacuate, of which almost everyone ran outside. The orange haired girl just stood there, watching. She then smiled, as if it was a plan.

* * *

Outside, the young girl was clinging to the railing for her life, screaming in fear with her eyes closed tight and her mouth quivering (like a cloud shape with nothing but pink for the mouth inside).

"Child! There you are!" She turned around to see the cat. It was a white cat walking on two legs with her paws on her hips. She was wearing a hot pink and mustard yellow top and a pink dress, along with pink bowtie. "Where have you been?"

"Looking for you! Where have you been?" The girl asked after hugging the cat tightly.

"Looking for you!" The cat said with an infuriated face (only white in her eyes and a large mouth with no teeth)

The boat then rocked again, causing the two to get up. "Where do we go?" The girl asked.

The cat looked toward the front of the ship. "That way for now." Still carrying the white feline, the girl then started to run toward the Bow of the cruiser.

* * *

"FIRE!" Inside the ship, men were firing the cannons of the ship and hitting all around the ship. They even managed to blow of the dolphin Figurehead.

"COBY!" A female voice called back on the ship.

A boy shot his head up, of whom was wearing a white shirt with blue stripes, maroon pants and white and red shoes. He also had glasses.

"Yes…Mam?" He asked, scared.

"Who is the most beautiful pirate of the seas?" She asked, with a hint of intimidation.

Coby scratched the back of his head of fear and slight embarrassment. "That would be you of course, the captain of our ship, Lady Alvida…" He said quickly and intimidated.

The lady, apparently named Alvida's mouth was shown, of which gave a smirk as Coby finished the sentence, then laughing in joy and commandment. She then placed her mace end onto the ship with her hands resting n the handle. Alvida was an extremely obese woman with freckles on her face, red lipstick, and wavy black hair. She was wearing a pink plaid shirt, very light purple-grey pants with a purple sash, hosting a pistol, and a captains coat, of which unlike others, she had her arms in the sleeves. She also wore a white cowgirl hat with a large red plume, and a ring on all four of her fingers on her right hand (thumb isn't a finger here, nor does it have a ring), each being a different colour, along with red nail polish.

"Good answer." She told him, still smirking.

"Thank you, my lady…" Coby replied, still scared.

"Finally. We're getting some action going!" A ship man behind her said.

She turned back to him and smirked again. "That's right!" The front cannon of the Miss Love Duck now aimed at the center of the cruiser. "Make this one count, boys! No holding back!" She ordered. The others, sans Coby, cheered and fired the front cannon.

The cannonball destroyed the back sail post, along with one of the hardest rocks the ship had received so far.

* * *

Outside, the two barrels were rolling across the deck from the impact, falling downstairs. After a while, the barrels slammed into an open door, one after another, and landed on the back corners of the room, one in the middle of other smaller ones, and the other leaning on a knocked over table.

* * *

Meanwhile, the orange haired girl was outside, looking for a way to escape. She quickly had her back against the wall outside near the door when she heard screaming, seeing a blue haired girl with a cat running toward the other side of the ship. She then tried to go where the younger girl came from, but saw what she was running from: The pirate ship. She ran back inside before anyone could see her, just as the duck/swan figurehead passed by.

The Miss Love Duck hauled directly on the Starboard side of the ship before coming to a complete stop. Three of the men on the Pirate ship threw grappling hooks, landing all three close to one another close to the front deck.

"Alright boys, here we go." Alvida announced. "Now show these cruisers the true terror of the lady pirate, 'Iron Mace Alvida'!"

The crew then boarded the ship, ready for action. They went on by mainly one of two methods: running along the grappling lines, or swinging by rope that was attached previously. The pirates charged ahead, ready for a plunder!

Well, almost…

"Coby!" The pink-haired chore boy flinched at the scream of his name. He had a swing rope, but he was just standing there, afraid of conflict. "What the hell are you doing just standing there?!"

Coby slowly turned to her. "I-I'm n-not really good a-at this stuff, a-action and all…"

"Huh! No shit!" She remarked. You're always complaining, so that's no big surprise!" She then laughed evilly and slowly walked towards him.

Coby already knew where this was going. "Please…not the club! Anything but the club!" He begged.

It did little good though. "Then get your ass over there!" She ordered, kicking him over. He landed his face square into one of the ship walls, flinching back in pain. He didn't stand there long…

"MOVE IT, BRAT!" He saw Alvida above him, aiming for the wall, ready to smash into it. He only just got out of the way by ducking as she slammed into the wall, landing on her fat ass.

Back downstairs, the other members of the Alvida Pirates had held up almost every passenger, as well as the captain.

"Don't worry. We promise we won't take your lives. Cross our hearts!" One of the main pirates told the passengers. "We will take everything else this place holds, though…" He added grimly.

"Anybody who doesn't comprehend WILL have their hearts crossed, feeding of the ocean floor!" Alvida threatened from behind, causing the other pirates to greaten the size of their already large smirks.

Down one of the corridors nearby, the orange haired girl heard all of it, knowing all threats were off of the Miss Love Duck. She then threw off her dress like a cape, and had on a blue dress shirt and navy blue bandana on her head.

* * *

And here comes the beginning of the adventure.

* * *

Coby peered his head into a room with the door wide open. "Uh…Hello?" He called out, checking if anyone was inside. No response. He walked inside. "I do hope there IS no one in here." He then spotted two large barrels, different coloured than the smaller ones also in the room. "Wow… Those are some big barrels. I wonder what's inside them…"

* * *

Back outside, the orange haired girl was sliding across one of the grappling lines, landing on the ship. Seeing as there was still the possibility, she checked quietly to see if anyone was still on board. After checking the coast was clear, she moved her hand to the main door handle…

Of which was opened by a crew member with a green shirt and a Viking-like helmet. The girl flinched back, of which got his unnecessary attention. He attemted to check if she was an ally or foe, only to get kicked in the balls. She looked at him fall to the deck, simply shrugging it off with a hand, smiling with a chuckle.

* * *

Meanwhile, Coby had rolled out the barrel at the table already, and was rolling the second one near the smaller ones toward the door. That's when three of the pirates showed up, one with a tattoo on his right arm and eye and a purple shirt, a tall one with a moppy hairdo and a goatee with an orange shirt, and a large man with a blue and white striped shirt.

"Well then, the pussy of the crew has been found out." The large one spat. "Avoiding the main fight again, runt?"

"No way!" Coby defended quickly. "I-I-I was just getting you guys these barrel of beer to have after the action."

They smirked. "Well why didn't you say so… Should have told us first." The large one remarked.

"How convenient…" The tall one added. "I've been thirsty for quite a bit now…all three of us have…"

"N-No! You can't! Do you know what Alvida will do to us if she finds us with these?!" Coby warned, scared of the possible consequences.

"You shut your fat mouth, it'll be fine…got it?…" The tattoo one threatened.

"Yeah…good point there" Coby replied, scratching the back of his head.

The large man by now had lifted the barrel that Coby just rolled back upright and placed it, now doing the same with the other. "They're heavy…" He said. "They'll carry TONS of beer!"

"Nice!" The tall one said, excited. Seriously, why does everyone assume it's alcohol because it's a large brown barrel that's heavy…

The barrels were now side-by-side one another. "Step back boys, let the old fashioned way take it's course…" The large man said, cracking his knuckles. He raised his hand toward the one further from the door, of which was the barrel that Coby just rolled.

He raised his fist.

Higher…

Higher…

Higher…

And brung it down toward the barrel…

Of which it broke open before the man could even hit it. An entire body sprang out of the barrel, a fist socking the man in the chin, knocking him not out, but down. His appearance shocked everyone. It was a boy with raven black hair, around 17 years old, who was wearing a red button up shirt, blue shorts, close to jean shorts, and brown sandals. The most eye-catching item on him was the yellow straw hat with a red ribbon wrapped around the base on his head.

"THAT! WAS! AWESOME!" He cheered as he awoke from the barrel. He looked at the man below him of who he just punched. "Hm?" The large man got up, looking pissed.

"What the hell was tha-" He remembered something. The other barrel. He pointed a saber machete toward him. "Don't move, kid." He growled. The boy simply seemed unfazed, to the point of not even caring.

"Let's check if anything else is in here." He sneered. "No more surprise attacks…"

Once again, he raised his fist.

Higher…

Higher…

Higher…

And brung it down toward the other barrel…

Except a fist came out of the barrel, punching the man in the chin, causing him to fly into the floor above him, of which he got his head stuck into the first floor. He was evidently knocked out cold.

Another guy, about the same age as the other boy in the barrel next to him shot up, laying his arms back. He was a lean muscular man with wild pink hair, similar to the other boy's black hair, only slightly spikier. He wore a waistcoat with gold edge trimmings, a matching cloth for below, white knee-length trousers, a black wristband around his left wrist and black open-footed sandals. Like the other boy's straw hat, he had another item that distinguished himself: A white scale-pattern scarf around his neck.

"Damn!" The pink haired man shouted, while stretching his arms over his head, making them operate again before putting his arms back across the barrel brim like a bathtub. "That was quite the ride, huh buddy?" He said, looking into the barrel.

"Aye, sir!" A blue cat jumped up from the barrel and landed on the man's left shoulder. He was a light blue cat (Similar to the white one before) with a white underbelly and paws. He had a green backpack on his back. He had really large eyes, as well as a small triangular nose. He also had a tail, light blue, with the last tip of it white.

All three of them turned to see the guy that the pink-haired man from the barrel just punched into the ceiling above them.

"Who's that?" The raven hair boy asked.

"I dunno." The pink haired guy replied.

They then turned to see the other two pirates in front of them, shaking in surprise and, dare they say it to the open world, slight fear.

"Who are you guys?" The straw hat asked.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!" They screamed to them in response.

"Your friend's up in the ceiling. Kind of rude to leave him there, you know." The pink-haired guy told them. As he said this, he slung himself out of the barrel with the blue cat still on his shoulders. The straw-hat boy simply climbed out.

"AND WHO PUT HIM THERE, DUMB FUCKS!?" They roared in anger towards the kids' stupidity.

The next moment, the boys saw a sword being held to them.

"Hold it." The tattoo pirate said. "Are you trying to mock us? We're pirates you know?! Huh?!"

The boys weren't even paying attention, as they were looking towards Coby.

"Hey, is there any food here?" The straw hat asked him.

"I hope there's some yummy fish!" The cat exclaimed.

"I could use some fried fish right now!" The salamander boy said with a smile.

"I'M TALKING TO YOU!" The tattoo man yelled, really pissed now.

"Damn you, kids!" The tall man cursed as the two raised their swords, ready to attack these kids and the cat.

The three turned around, seeing the two pirates swords high, with Coby still cowering in the back. "Hm?" They wondered.

The men brought down their swords, trying to kill them. Next thing anyone knew, the swords had the front ends of the swords broken clean off, across either end of the large man from earlier, and the two men were on their asses, trembling in fear, both physically and in their voices.

"Are you guys okay?" The pink-haired man asked.

"Who are you?!" The tattoo man asked, scared.

The raven-haired boy had his arms crossed and his body turned to the right with a smile on his face. The pink-haired man was standing with his hands in whatever pockets he had in hos trousers, and the cat was standing in between them on the salamander haired man's right shoulder.

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" The raven-haired boy introduced.

"I'm Natsu. Natsu Dragneel!" The pink-haired man introduced.

"I'm Happy!" The cat answered.

The two boys then smiled with wide grins. The two other pirates immediately pulled their friend out from the ceiling and ran out as fast as they could.

"What…Just happened…" Coby asked.

"You tell us." Natsu replied bluntly.

Coby immediately had an epiphany. "You guys gotta get out of here now!" He shot up and warned them, scared. "If they get their friends down here, it's gonna be nothing more than a ten-second bloodbath!"

"And?" Luffy asked.

"I get that you guys are hungry, but you can't just blow something off like this as if it's absolutely nothing!" Coby remarked shocked at their calm demeanors.

Coby was now restraining them as they went to try and get something to eat. It wasn't holding them back, but it was making them quite slower.

* * *

They were now in a room, filled with boxes that contained a whole bunch of foods.

"Goldmine!" The three of them cheered, whilst Coby was behind them, closing the door.

As Happy was eating a fish and the two boys were eating a bunch of apples, Coby came down to talk to them better.

"Hey, Camblotshi." Natsu asked.

"Coby. My name's Coby." The cabin boy corrected.

"Anyway, is this a Pirate ship?"

"No. It's a cruise ship being attacked by one. Iron Mace Lady Alvida is the captain of the Pirates currently raiding." Coby had fear evident in his voice.

"Don't care." Luffy stated. "All we care about is any spare boats. Our one got sucked into a whirlpool on the way here."

"The one outside?!" Coby asked shocked. "No one could have endured that and lived to tell the tale… Anyway, there should be a few escape boats nearby outside."

"Aye! It was swirly and dizzy, but awesome!" Happy remarked.

"Hey Cambodia. Which side are you on, Pirate or Passenger?" Luffy asked, curious.

After explaining what had happened to him two years ago, being caught by accident on a fishing boat, Luffy remarked that Coby was pretty stupid, to which the other two agreed nodding their heads.

"You're blunt, but honest…" Coby sighed.

"You hate it, then get the hell outta here." Natsu suggested, causing Coby to continuously doubt the possibility of him escaping with his life.

The other three just started laughing. Not hysterically, but they definitely were real. "You're an idiot AND a coward!" Luffy laughed. "You're a disgrace!" This bluntness left Coby in not emotional tears, but falling flat from losing whatever dignity was still on his back after all this time.

* * *

Back on deck, the Alvida Pirates were stocking up from their raid of their prey, with the orange-haired girl stocking up her own secret share from what they had into a large beige bag.

"CAPTAIN!" Alvida turned to see two of the three from earlier popping up, calling out to her.

"What is it?" She asked impatiently. "Out with it!"

"Barrels! Horrible monsters!" This infuriated Alvida. She thought they were referring to her.

"Who are you," She then threw her club at them. "CALLING A MONSTER?!" The large man knocked out earlier then popped his head up, only to get hit by the club and sent flying as the other two ducked, before the mace landed back onto them in between, still hurting.

"My lady…" The tall one tried to rephrase. "We weren't…talking…about you…"

"D-D-Downstairs!" The tattoo one spat in fear. "T-They could be Bounty Hunters!"

This got Alvida's attention. "What?"

* * *

Downstairs, the boys were explaining their reasons of sailing, of which Natsu wanted to find his foster father, Igneel, of whom was a man with the heart of a dragon. Happy followed him because Natsu was his best friend, and vice versa. He also went with Luffy to widen his search, and because they've been friends since they were kids, and he wanted to help Luffy achieve his dream. This was what sent Coby into panic and hysteria.

"I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Coby immediately said Luffy couldn't do it, saying there were to many people going after the One Piece at the moment already. This rewarded him with a punch into the head from the Straw Hat boy.

"Why did you hit me?" Coby whimpered.

"Felt like it." Luffy responded.

"I don't blame him." Coby heard Natsu say. "He's right, you need to man up and go after your horrible captain."

Coby stopped for a moment. "Hey…" He asked. "Do you think, if I tried, I could… Become a Marine."

"Don't ask us." Luffy told him. "We don't know."

"I'm going to do it!" He exclaimed. "You said yourself that you will fight for what you wanted, and if you die, you die! Well I'm not going to be a cabin boy for the Alvida Pirates any longer! I'm going to leave, become a Marine, come back here, AND CAPTURE 'IRON MACE ALVIDA'!"

The ceiling above them broke, as dust came pouring towards them. They heard a pissed voice.

"WHO did you say you were going to catch, Coby?!" This revealed to be a pissed of Alvida. Coby was already cowering in fear, despite what he said earlier. "Also, do you expect a twig in a straw hat, a salamander headed circus actor, and a blue CAT to help you?!" This got her an "OI!" from Happy, of which only the three boys heard.

She then looked up at the three boys. "I presume that neither of you are Zoro?" She asked. They just stood there as five swords attempted to stab the from behind, only for them to go around them.

"COBY!" She demanded. She then asked the question that would engage a fight and awesomeness would arise. "Who is the most beautiful on these seas?"

Coby stuttered, before answering "T-That would b-be you, L-L-Lady A-Alvida…"

" **LADY** Alvida?" Natsu asked, looking at Coby. "I don't see a lady anywhere."

"I think he's talking about the Whale Shark with legs." Luffy said pointing to Alvida.

At this point, every mouth in sight, excluding the two boys and Happy, and including Coby and Alvida, was wide open in shock, almost hitting the floor.

As the crew members looked on in fear, Alvida got about five tick marks on her face. Tick marks went all over her after Happy commented that they could use her excess fat to make an entire Galleon.

She didn't even need to regard that it was a cat that said the last insult; she went after all three of them with her mace. " **YOOOUUU! AAASSSSSHOOOOOOOLLLEESSS!** " She then swung her mace, of where the three avoided her by jumping (Happy still on Natsu's shoulders) and landing on the deck, after of course Luffy went down and got Coby.

They landed and the two boys smirked, ready for action. A man tried slicing up Luffy, but the latter dodged and knocked him down, as soon as another one came by and Luffy punched him clean in the jaw. Four men came towards Natsu and tried grabbing him and beating him, only for him to jump high up and dodge them.

From behind, a man jumped off of the roof to cut Natsu, but the pink-haired fighter heard him and dodged to his left. "Trying to sneak-attack, huh?" Before he grabbed him by the head and slammed him into the four that tried to grab him earlier.

Luffy smirked, but that was BEFORE seeing twenty-five men behind him, all with swords and machetes. "Ganging up on a guy is even worse!" He complained before running away from them. As they chased him, he grabbed the post and kept running. Then something happened that confused and/or freaked out most of the people there.

His arm kept stretching.

Luffy then turned his head, smiling. "Got ya."

The men then turned around to run, but the direction they were running made things worse for them then it already was.

" **Gum Gum…** " Luffy said, before pulling and moving towards the group of pirates now running from him. " **Rocket!** " He plowed into all of them, knocking all of them down.

Alvida and Coby were both shocked at this. All of the pirates were. However, this didn't stop some of them on the Miss Love Duck from charging toward them.

"Natsu…" Said person turned toward Luffy. "Wanna have a crack?" He asked.

Natsu smirked, cracking his knuckles. "Gladly…" He said maliciously.

He then walked up to the pirates, as they ran to him. His hands started burning fire. " **Fire Dragon's…** " He then breathed in. The pirates stopped and could tell he was going to attack. They turned and tried to run back, but it was already to late for that. " **Roar!** " Natsu shot out a stream of fire that went straight towards them, which pushed them straight into the mast of their ship.

This shocked the Captain and Cabin boy even more, though Alvida quickly shook out of it and walked towards the two, who high fived each other. After Coby quickly ran behind the three, of which Happy was there with angel-like wings, flying.

"So." Alvida said. "You've both eaten Devil Fruits."

"Yep!" I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!" He then stretched his cheek about 6 inches. "I'm a Rubber Man!" He then let it go, slapping it back.

"Mine is more complicated." Natsu answered. "It's from a special group called the Dragon-Dragon Fruits. They don't let you turn into a dragon, but give you lots of different awesome things like one." He then lit up his hand. "There is one fruit for each different element known as Modes. As you can see, mine is Mode Fire. So I'm a Fire Dragon!"

Alvida then turned to Happy. "And you?"

"Nope! I'm actually a special species!" Happy replied happily. "I think… Not sure. But no, I'm not a Devil Fruit User."

"I've heard rumors about them, but I haven't seen their proof of existence until today."

Meanwhile, as they were talking, the orange-haired girl was sneaking out with her treasure she stole from the Alvida Pirates and was now sneaking to one of the three emergency boats, none of the people noticing her due to what was happening elsewhere on the cruise ship.

"You're all far more skilled than your everyday pirate in the East Blue. Are you a group of Bounty Hunters-"

"Pirates." Luffy corrected Alvida.

"What? Are you really, a simple group of two young adults and a flying blue cat, a group of pirates?"

"Yep!" Natsu answered. "You see, neither of us are first mate. We're both Captains, though Luffy's the higher Captain than me. Confused? Me too."

"We're mainly aiming for around ten members before the Grand Line." Luffy added.

"So if it's true…" Alvida spoke. "…That we're both pirates, and we're not either under the same flag, nor allies, we're rivals and/or enemies. Correct?..."

Coby was scared enough. Even if he had seen their power, he was still scared. "Guys…come on, let's go…" He whispered.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"You guys saw the power of her mace! She's easily the…the…" Coby stopped, remembering what they said.

" _I promised to someone years ago that I would one day become King of the Pirates. And if I die fighting for it, so be it, I'm dead."_

He turned to Alvida again.

"Go on. Tell me what I am, Coby."

" _And if I die fighting for it…_

Coby had had enough after these past 2 years.

… _So be it, I'm dead."_

And now, he was leaving, no matter what! HE HAD HAD ENOUGH OF ALVIDA!

" **SHE'S THE MOST OVERBLOATED BITCH THE WORLD'S EVER WITTNESSED WITH WHATEVER EYES HAVE SURVIVED**!"

This comment sent the two other boys and Happy into a laughing hysteria. But Coby wasn't finished there.

"You are a nothing more than a fat fuck with a giant piece of iron in her grubby hands! You're cruel to your crewmates who disobey or even say ANYTHING to you, and you ALL have pushed me around for an entire two years! I'm done being your navigator and cabin boy! I'm becoming a marine AND THAT'S FINAL, FATASS ALVIDA!"

At this point in time, our other three had almost died laughing, and were starting to go blue and choke. 'Fatass Alvida', however, had gone entirely red in anger and was ready to destroy Coby, of whom was screaming internally and externally, though saying he said what he said and wouldn't go back now.

"Wise words, my friend!" Luffy said, appearing in front of Coby.

Alvida swung her club hard down on Luffy's head, which shocked Coby from seeing his friend taking a hit from an iron club at full force.

It was about ten seconds, of which felt like an hour, before Luffy smirked under his hat. "That won't work, fatass!" He mocked.

"What?!" Alvida was shocked that her weapon had done absolutely nothing.

"I'm rubber!"

Luffy then smashed her mace off his head and stretched it back a good two hundred meters. Everyone there was watching the fist go back, not knowing what it would do next.

" **Gum Gum…** " Then, something caught Natsu's eye. He saw something fall down off the roof. It was screaming too. It then landed in one of the two boats used for emergencies. Natsu raised his eyebrow at this, slightly confused.

That was when Luffy then brought his arm in, aiming for Alvida's gut; one of the easiest targets in the world. " **Pistol!** " His fist hit directly the center of her and sent her flying. Luffy's fist and arm extended as far forward as it did back. To few, she wouldn't be seen for quite some time. Others, never again.

Out at sea, the large man from before was laying on his back, floating in the water. He decided to look straight up after regaining consciousness. "The sky's so pretty today…" He muttered in awe.

That was the last thing he ever said, as something was aiming directly toward him, which was none other than his former Captain, landing on him and causing a huge splash, equivalent to that of a bomb landing in water.

Back at the two ships, Luffy had just retracted his arm back, and was in a pose with his legs out like a sumo, his right arm out and his left arm on his right arm, smiling a huge toothy smile at the same time.

Aside from Natsu and Happy, every single living being was agape, mouth smashing the surface below in doubt of reality any longer. The two former just stood there smiling, Natsu with his own trademark toothy smile.

Luffy turned to the pirates on the Miss Love Duck. "Hey, you!" he called.

"Yes!" They quickly asked, as scared as Coby before all this.

"Get Coby a boat now!" He ordered. "He's joining the Marines, and you will not stop him." The pirates quickly complied without question.

They then heard cannon fire, and the boat shook. At first, Luffy suspected more pirates to ass kick, but when they turned, they saw much larger ships. The symbol from before was much easier to see. It was two semicircles that went up and down like an M, yet curved as a semicircle, with a wrench-like shape below it.

"It's the Marines!" Coby exclaimed. The other three looked on in awe.

"Don't just stand there, go and registrate!" Natsu told Coby.

"We're pirates though, so we're off!" as Luffy said that, they jumped into the last boat left over.

Coby was instantly reluctant. "I-I can't! If I go over like this, they'll think I'm one of the Alvida Pirates and they'll arrest me like the rest of them!"

In the boat, the Blue haired girl and the white cat were hiding in one of the boats, hoping nobody had seen them. Their luck had run out though as three boys and a cat, similar to the fairly dressed white one already in, had jumped on board. This caused the two girls to scream-well mostly the blue haired girl, the cat just stared- in fear.

"Let's go!" Luffy exclaimed. Natsu cut the line holding the boat up and it began to fall into the ocean below. Once it landed, it caused a huge splash, causing, unbeknownst to everyone else, the girls (Both the blue haired and cat) to scream. Another scream was heard behind them. As the water went up before it landed, the eyes met between Luffy and the orange-haired girl who robbed the Alvida Pirates earlier. It was about five seconds before the water landed again like a waterfall.

* * *

"Please don't hurt us, please don't hurt us," The blue-haired girl kept begging.

The cat got out of her grip. "We're sorry, okay? We'll give you everything we have. Please, just don't hurt her." She pleaded.

"No." Luffy stated strictly "No means no."

…

"What do you mean no?" Natsu asked. "Look, you know as well as I do that pork is much better than steak."

"No!" Luffy shot back. "Steak is tasty, flavoured naturally and has juice to go. Pork is simply dry and has nothing more than iron for bones." He continued matter-of-factly.

"What about seafood?" Coby and Happy asked them, the latter drooling.

It was now that the two girls realized they hadn't been noticed at all. Not when they got onto the boat, not when they landed into the water, not now. They had been almost invisible, pretty much considered so, this entire time.

Until now.

"Hi!" The blue haired girl greeted, waving.

"What are you doing?!" The white cat asked, shocked.

The four turned their attention to the two, making the white cat nervous and the girl appearing scared and shy. It was like that for about ten minutes until:

"Who are the girl and the cat?" Luffy asked, confused.

"YOU MEAN AFTER ALL THIS TIME YOU HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN US UNTIL NOW?!" The white cat yelled in anger.

The three boys just shook their heads with raised eyebrows. Happy, however, was looking at her with love hearts in his eyes.

"Hi there, um…" He was nervous speaking to someone who was beautiful in the ways of his species. I mean, come on, almost anyone would be.

"Tomcat, do not even attempt." The white cat said sternly.

"She's a heartbreaker, but still perfect…" Happy sighed.

"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Natsu asked.

"Well, we fell off of the roof of the ship and fell into here. We didn't want to get out in case we got caught. When you guys got in, we thought you guys would kill us." The blue-haired girl answered.

"Ah." Natsu realized. "So you guys were what I saw fall of the roof."

"Most likely." The cat responded. We hadn't seen anybody else on the roof, which is why we went up there to begin with."

Coby then realized an important question. "What are your names, anyway?"

"I'm Wendy. Wendy Marvell." The girl answered, bowing her head in respect.

"My name is Carla." Said cat answered, still with the same stern attitude.

"Hey!" Luffy called to them. "How about you join our Pirate Crew!"

"WE WILL DO NOTHING OF THE SORTS!" Carla yelled with an Oda Anger face.

"I'll think about it." Wendy answered smiling.

"DON'T CONCEED IN AGREEMENT!"

"Look, Carla, we've been wondering around for weeks now." Wendy told her friend. "Besides, these guys look nice!" The last comment got a 'Thanks!" from the two fighters and Happy.

"They're Pirates, child! PIRATES!"

"And?" Carla didn't really know what to counter to that. "Besides, I said I'll think about it, not join straight up. It may take about a few days or weeks, but I'll decide soon!"

Luffy smiled. "You're welcome to stay with us until then if you want! I mean, look at sir brown pants back here!" He pointed backward with his thumb toward Coby, of which caused him to into tears of dignity loss again.

"Welcome aboard!" Happy welcomed. The boys then started talking about what to catch for dinner, most likely fish and using Natsu's fire to cook it.

Carla motioned for Wendy to move her head down to her head level. When she did, Carla spoke. "We're not fully sure about them yet, but from what we've seen so far, they're not the average Pirate Crew, are they?"

Wendy nodded in agreement smiling. "I like them. They're fun!" She responded.

"Yeah, that'd be about right." Carla muttered.

Natsu then remembered something important. "Oi, Coby!" Said navigator turned to the fellow pink haired. "What's the name of that bounty catcher 'Lardass' was talking about?" Wendy giggled at the mention of the nickname Natsu gave Alvida.

"Oh, the Bounty Hunter you mean?" Coby asked. "His name is Roranoa Zoro. He's known as a Pirate Hunter who shows no mercy and will kill any Pirate without hesitation. I think he's being held at the moment at the Marine Base in Shell Town."

"Well, since Wanda and Charlie Haven't decided yet, maybe we could get him as the first official crew member!" Luffy exclaimed, evidently excited.

As Coby looked on in shock and fear, Natsu, Happy, even Wendy, who wasn't even officially in the crew, were agreeing. Carla had no real say anyway, but she was the in-between of them.

At this point, if this were a show, it would be a birds-eye-view of the boat sailing across the water.

"No way!" Coby screamed. "You can't get someone like him to join your crew! No way, no way, not in a million years, no way, impossible, unthinkable, no way, no way, impossi-" Coby then got slammed down by Natsu, Luffy and Wendy.

"Why did YOU hit me?" He asked Wendy.

"You need to calm down." She answered, calm herself. "Who knows, he might not be who you think he is." She did have a good point, and Coby couldn't argue with that, but was still fearful and weary.

He then turned to the other two. "Let me guess, you two hit me because you-"

"Felt like it." They finished.

"You Barbarians keep using violence as a means to conclude everything!" Carla yelled, angered at the continuous punching occurring today.

"Always." Happy stated with a smile.

* * *

Elsewhere, tied to a cross, was a man with a bandana, of who was glaring in rage, directly to the camera if one were to be there.

* * *

 **Before anything, I'll be showing a song of the day with each chapter at the end of them. You don't like the taste of my taste in music, no need to pay attention to them then, but it IS happening!**

* * *

 **SONG OF THE DAY**

 **Phantom Sage & Omar Varela - PLUNDER**

* * *

 **Well then, I think that turned out pretty good!**

 **You see, as shown, the mages (Other than the Exceeds) will have their own Devil Fruits. Each one like Dragon-Dragon Fruits will have different 'Modes', which will be a different element.**

 **Example: Natsu: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Mode: Fire**

 **Wendy: Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Mode: Air**

 **Gray: Make-Make Fruit, Mode: Ice**

 **and so on, though this is just for these kinds of ones. Also, that pretty much reveals the setup for Dragon Slayer and Make Magics Fruits.**

 **Favourite, Follow, and most importantly, Review! It's great to hear your opinions on the story and hear for any improvements I can make or any errors I've made, so don't be shy! Just make sure you use your account if you have one and if you don't, use a name... I'll be deleting any reviews that have a guest review labeled "Guest" for the name. Anonymous is something I stick by, but at least I have a name!**

 **Come around soon!**


	2. Pirate Hunter

**Welcome back! Sorry I took so long, but it is kind of hard to write something this long and half-complex, so you can't blame me for that. Also, I have school tasks and it is near the end of term (4 terms is like 2 semesters), so this is where they commonly come around. But enough of that, let's put down!**

 **Oda Wave-Off: Where you have your hand in front of your face pointing straight up and you move it back and forth like a fan while keeping it straight. This is common in one piece to represent comedically shrugging something off.**

 **Alright, douchefucks, let's do this!**

* * *

"What a day!" Luffy cheered on the front of the small sailboat. "It's gorgeous!"

Currently, the small group was sailing along the ocean with no waves, but a swift and light breeze, enough to perfectly push along the boat. Happy was trying to converse with Carla and give her a fish he caught, but to no avail, though they did converse about a couple subjects for a few minutes. Natsu was sitting along the side of the boat, staring at the fishes below them, drooling in hunger. Coby was navigating the boat whilst TRYING to do Wendy's hair, seeing as Carla trusted only him to do the young girls hair, regardless of anyone else's opinion on the matter. As just stated, Luffy was just staring out at sea, sitting on the main front where a figurehead would be if it were an actual ship, laughing in happiness at the beautiful day shown; sunny, few clouds, and a smooth breeze with a few seagulls around the area.

Coby turned his head to Luffy from the poor job he was doing with Wendy's hair. "Well, if we keep going as we are, we should reach Shell Town in no time!"

The camera view was now a distance out, toward the left of the sip as it went by across the calm ocean.

"I'm guessing Shell Town is where the Marine base is that we're going to?" Wendy asked.

"That's right. Like I said, we may be there in close to an hour or so, half an hour if these conditions stay the same." Coby confirmed.

"Wow Coby, you're really good at this moving skill, huh?" Luffy complimented.

"Well, I'm just using the Navigator skills that any sailor should have, especially in a world where around 90% of the world is oceans of multiple kinds." Coby assured.

Luffy started laughing in joy again, even to where Natsu joined in. "This is going to be awesome!" The Salamander replied.

Back to the normal camera view. "You guys realize this is no laughing matter, right?" Coby asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because where we're going…" They all turned to him. "…Is where the great Pirate Hunter is being held…Roranoa Zoro…"

He froze for a moment before continuing. "He's been said to be a man who has sliced up bounties like a wild beast. He's known as nothing less than a human appearance possessed by a demon!"

* * *

Wendy's hair is shown as a moppy hairstyle with bits pointing up at the back. By the looks of things, Coby wasn't doing the finest job in the world.

"Sorry…" He apologized while rubbing the back of his head. "If there's one thing I'm bad at other than action at the moment, it's hair." It was about ten minutes since Coby said his opinion the "Pirate Hunter", and he was still not doing so well at fixing hair.

"It's fine." Carla said. "At least you're doing better than they would…" She pointed to Natsu and Luffy, who were fishing with their hands, despite being Devil Fruit Users.

"Hey, let me try!" Natsu offered smiling, after turning from hearing his name.

Carla instantly snapped to Oda Anger. "Absolutely not!" She denied. "I cannot trust Wendy within your care! Why should I leave her hair with you?! You'll most likely make her as bald as the Tomcat!" That last comment earned an "Oi!" from the side.

"Sure!" Wendy approved with a smile. This caused a white-eyed, wide-mouthed (Not shark-toothed) Carla to glare at her in surprise and rage.

Before anybody could register anything else into their minds, Natsu was already behind Wendy with two braids that she had handed him by request.

"What are you doing, child?!" Carla demanded. "You're letting a pirate, let alone this fool, take control over you?! What good could that-"

She never finished as she saw what he had done with her hair; he separated most of the back into two large ponytails to the side of her hair.

Luffy looked at her and smiled his trademark smile. "You look great!" He complimented, with Happy nodding in agreement.

"Far better than what I tried." Coby added.

Even Carla put up a small smile. "As much as I hate to admit it, Natsu did a fair job." She said.

"Well, what do you think?" Natsu asked, now with the rest.

Wendy pulled up one of her ponytails. She looked at it for a few seconds, then faced the group again with a smile on her face.

"I like it!" she concluded.

* * *

After about twenty minutes, like Coby stated, they were in Shell Town. It was not that large of a town, but it looked rather nice, like Luffy's hometown. In the very back of the large amount of buildings was a large blue with stripe building that had the shape of a power plant.

Luffy jumped off of the boat, with the others coming off the boat behind him. "We're here!" He cheered happily. "The Marine base city!"

The group of six (Including the cats on Natsu and Wendy's shoulders respectively) was now moving through the town. In the straight line they were on, it appeared they were hosting a few markets.

"Luffy, you guys can't be serious about getting Roranoa into your crew, are you?!" Coby asked. The entire time since the mentioning of adding Zoro to the crew, he had been non-stop paranoid.

"I haven't decided just yet, but I think he might be a great addition to us." Luffy replied while still walking and looking straightforward. "All we have to do is see how nice he is!"

Coby stopped walking. "And why do you think he's at the Headquarters here?!" He screamed.

Wendy walked up to him from the left side. "Don't worry." She said with a sincere smile. "Who knows? It might just be what people know him as and he might actually just be a good guy!" She had a really positive attitude, and for good reason.

"All I can do is hope your theory on the situation is true…" Coby replied.

As they finished talking, Natsu and Luffy each reached for a light green pear, biting into it.

"Wow!" Natsu thought aloud. "These are really good. Thanks!" He complimented as he and Luffy each flicked a coin towards the saleswoman for payment.

"Also," Luffy began as he took a second bite. "Have any of you seen a guy named Zoro around here?"

This question, or at least the name stated, sent shock and fear into the lady as well as everyone there, causing them to back up to the walls in fear, hide inside, or just stand in funny positions from the shock that somebody would just bluntly ask a question with that name.

Coby quickly went near Luffy. "Perhaps we should avoid saying his name, alright?" He whispered.

They were now continuing to walk along the market line. At this point, the market people had returned to their jolly selves with the rest of the people there.

"Alright, let's get you to the Marine base." Luffy declared. "You want to become part of them, right?"

Coby looked slightly uneasy. "Well, I do and all, but I don't think I'm ready just yet." He admitted. "I can't fight really well, I'm not the bravest of them all, and overall, I'm kind of weak."

Natsu punched him on top of the head again for the former chore boy's last comment.

"Why did you hit me again?" the latter asked.

"You may be a little weak to average, but you gotta stop selling yourself short!" Natsu encouraged, smiling at the end.

"Yeah…" Coby said quietly. "You're right…"

"Oh yeah, Coby." Said boy turned to Luffy. "What's the name of the guy in charge of this dump again? Moron?" He asked.

"Actually, I think it was more close to Morbid." Wendy reassured, giggling at the end for the mention of that being the Marine Captain's name.

"Actually, you're all pretty close." Coby concluded. "I heard the Captain's name is Morgan.

For some reason, this caused everyone around them to back up against the walls, run inside, hide inside, and fall into funny poses again, much like Zoro's, only slightly more extreme.

Luffy and Natsu couldn't stop laughing at this silliness and humor before them. "I love this place!" Luffy cried in joy while still laughing. "We gotta come back here!"

"I second that notion!" Natsu agreed, still laughing as well.

The two boys, Wendy and Happy, still on Natsu's shoulder, moved up in joy of the humor they were finding here.

Behind them, the other two, with Carla sitting atop Coby, were thinking.

"I think even they should have noticed how weird that was." Carla mentioned.

Coby nodded in agreement. "Zoro's name is understandable, but why Morgan's?"

Wendy turned her head back to face them after about five seconds. "Festivity?" She guessed.

"Why would that be possible?" The other two Mashima Blanked.

After another couple minutes, they arrived at a large gate with the Marine symbol on the front with Kanji of the name written below the logo, leading to the inner court of outside the base.

"How long do you think it'd take for them to hide any evidence as a Marine base if they needed to?" Natsu asked skeptically.

A few tears welled up in Coby's eyes. "I made it…" He said to himself quietly, though the others could hear it well. He then covered his eyes with his right arm. "Sorry guys…this is where we part ways…" He cried sadly. "We weren't together long, but-"

He looked up to see the others climbing the wall. Luffy was climbing up to see for himself, Happy and Carla climbed up Natsu, and said Salamander helped up Wendy before going up himself.

"What are you all doing?!" He demanded.

"Where is this demon you speak of?" Natsu asked in a deep mock-royal voice.

"It's highly unlikely to have him above ground, you guys." Coby mentioned. "He's probably in an underground cell being held capati-"

"Found him!" Luffy interrupted. They all dropped down from the fence and went to the other side of the gate, Luffy mentioning that they were going for a closer look.

It was true. Roranoa Zoro, the "Pirate Hunter" was right in front of them. He was wearing a plain white shirt with three buttons undone at the collar, a black bandana on his head, a green haramaki, and black trousers, tucked into black boots. At the moment, he was tied up to a post that was the shape of a cross (Christian cross that's like a plus sign) on both of his arms, rendering him immobile.

"Hey, Coby, check it out!" Happy called.

Coby got up with the rest of them, doubting them at first. He then looked and saw him. The bandana, the haramaki, it was Roranoa Zoro in the flesh…

"It's really him…" Coby whimpered. "Roranoa Zoro…"

Wendy pointed at Zoro, smiling. "We could just untie the ropes. Then he could walk away!" She said.

Coby went to Oda Anger at this. "Do you really think that's a wise idea?!" He screamed. "Why would we do that when he could just kill us as soon as we were to let him go?!"

"We're strong!" Luffy remarked with his trademark grin.

Natsu smiled his too. "We'll take care of him if he tries!" He added.

Coby's face looked hilarious from one angle, understandable from another. ' _They've lost it…_ ' he thought to himself, depressed.

"Hey…" They turned to the source of the voice, which was Zoro himself. "You're an eyesore…" He growled. He then showed an eye. "Fuck off now…" He demanded.

Coby immediately cowered back. "W-W-We should probably listen to him…" He shrieked. "There's no telling what would happen if we don't leave now-"

A wooden ladder was next to them before anything else. A young girl with brown hair two pigtails, a purple and green dress with a hood, and red frontless shoes appeared on the ladder. She shushed the others, looked around stealthily, and pulled down a rope into the yard, freaking Coby out as she went toward the prisoner.

"What do you want, kid…" Zoro asked threateningly, yet bored.

The girl still kept her smile. "I thought you might be getting hungry, so I made you some rice balls!" she replied.

"Look kid, you shouldn't be here." Zoro warned. "Just leave…"

"But you haven't eaten this whole time…" The girl remarked. She then held out two fresh looking balls of rice in the yellow paper she was holding. "This was my first time making them, so I'm not sure how they turned out. Hopefully you like them!"

"I'll say it again, you shouldn't be here!"

The girl frowned, a little depressed. "But…"

"Do I have to kick your ass?!" Zoro threatened.

The gates at the side opened, revealing two Marine soldiers, as well as another young man. He had a weird bowl cut of blonde hair, a purple suit and pants with apparent red on the inside, given away by the inverted collar, and a golden necklace round his neck.

"Now, now…" The blonde man told Zoro. "Bullying isn't very nice, especially to children." Zoro frowned at his presence and even growled a bit. "You're handling yourself rather nicely, aren't you? Having fun?"

The others behind the gate looked on at the scene unfolding before them. "Now there are two weird guys." Luffy said.

"Good." Coby said smiling. "They're probably with the Marines. She's now safe." He sighed.

The blonde man looked down to the girl. "Well, lookie here." He said, just as cockily as before. "Some rice balls. They look delicious!" He nabbed one of them from the girl and ate about half of it in a single bite.

"Hey!" The girl cried. "That's not yours to have!"

It didn't really matter, as he spat it out in disgust about two seconds later.

"Too sweet!" He choked. He turned to the girl in anger. "Why is there sugar?!" He demanded. "You use _salt_ , you idiot, SALT!"

"But I…I thought they would be better sweet than savory…" She answered sadly.

"Give me that!" He demanded, snatching the other rice ball. He then stomped on it in rage, smoshing it onto the dirt ground.

The girl started crying. "But I…I…I worked so…hard to…make those…" She cried through hiccups.

Coby looked on in sadness. "That's just awful." He said quietly.

Natsu was furious at this, and he already had his hand on fire ready to kick this douche's ass. All of them were either pitying, pissed, or both.

"Too bad…" The blonde man said, not one bit of remorse. "Try reading the notice next time."

 _Those who assist criminals in any way will be executed._

 _Signed Marine Captain Morgan._

He read the notice aloud. He laughed in mockery and spite. "Looks like daddy has even small prey fearing him."

"Daddy?" Luffy questioned.

Coby's eyes widened from an epiphany. "That man must be the son of Morgan…" He muttered silently and in a hint of shock.

They looked on to see the blonde pointing backward with his thumb to one of the men with him. "You there, toss this girl out of here now." He ordered.

The Marine looked on in shock and stared. It was about three seconds before the blonde reached and grabbed the Marine's shirt.

"I said throw that girl over the wall _now_ , soldier. Or perhaps my father would be a better person to answer to…"

"…Y-Yes sir! I-I'll do it!" The Marine stuttered.

He walked over to the girl, who was backing up in fear, and tried getting out of his grip.

"Sorry, miss…" He whispered. "Try curling up into a ball." The girl's eyes opened and widened greatly. She realized this man wasn't doing it by choice, but by force and even was reluctant to do so.

The others looked on at this, wandering what would happen next. And what happened next was the girl flew over them, screaming in fear. Luffy immediately reacted, stretching over to grab her, and landed in the dirt, saving her from any damage.

"Thanks, mister!" She said once they had sat up.

"Luffy!" They heard a call, of which came from Coby. They saw the others run toward them.

"You okay, guys?" Natsu asked.

Coby quickly went to the girl. "What about you? Are you alright? I can't believe how crazy he is. Was he even thinking straight?"

As he was doing this, Luffy just got up off the ground, dusting himself off. He saw Wendy holding his hat in front of him.

"Here" She said, handing him the straw hat up to his height. He put it back on his head, muttering a "thank you". He looked on toward the yard, though he couldn't see behind the wall.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the blonde was laughing hard, snorting a few times, as he walked past Zoro.

"You want nothing more than to stay alive, huh?" He spat in his own humor.

"Right." Zoro confirmed. "One month, and I'm off."

"Yeah, yeah…" The blonde shrugged off. "Good luck with that!" He then walked off, howling with a half-evil laughter.

"I got 10 days left, ya douche in a box!" Zoro called out.

"Right, you keep believing you'll survive, Roranoa!" The blonde spat back before finally leaving with the other two Marines.

Over the fence, Coby was still comforting the young girl, of who was apparently named Rika. "I'm really sorry…" He apologized. "I can't believe how cruel that guy was…" He turned his head and saw that Natsu, Luffy and Happy weren't there.

This prompted him to scream in fear. "Where did they go?!" He demanded. Wendy simply pointed behind her with her thumb.

In the yard, Zoro just sat there, still tied up.

"So, let me get this straight." He looked up to see two boys and a blue cat waiting there on the other half of the yard. "You're just sitting here on display to the world on a post, and you're just going with it?" Natsu asked.

"Are you guys really still here?" Zoro asked, slightly bored.

The other three (well, two with Happy on Natsu's head) started walking towards him. After about seven steps away from the Pirate Hunter, they stopped.

"If it were me, I would have been a goner after 3 days. You've been here way longer than that!" Luffy complimented.

"20." Zoro remarked. "Besides, I got more spirit than what you three could beg and dream for combined." He smirked. "I will take this challenge. And like all others, I WILL surpass it. That I swear!" He declared.

They looked at each other for three seconds before Happy spoke up.

"You're just as weird as us. Come on let's go." They turned around and only took a single step before-

"Hold it!" Zoro called out. "Two things. First: The cat can talk?!"

The three turned around, facing Zoro again. "Aye!" Happy smiled. "I'm from a special species that's really rare in this world!" I know that I'm part of a species because I have a friend outside who's also the same as me!"

After a "Shut up, Tomcat!" from Carla across the wall, Zoro nodded in understanding.

"And…second…" He sounded slightly desperate now for some reason. This caused the others to raise their eyebrows and tilt their heads slowly to the side. "Could…one of you…pick that up for me?..." He looked down at the bits of rice in the dirt.

The boys followed suit, and then looked back up at Zoro. "Well, if you want to eat dirt, you could just scrape some onto your shoes and lick it off!" Happy mocked with a smile.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT YOU SONOFA BITCH!" Zoro roared with an Oda Anger face.

He looked back down. "The…rice…please…"

Natsu picked it up, and the three stared at it, then back at Zoro, then the rice, then Zoro, then the rice, then Zoro.

Natsu then chucked the rice to Zoro, in which the latter caught it and chewed on it like it was the only thing he had eaten in 100 years, which is what it would feel like.

"Warned ya." Happy remarked after about ten seconds of chewing and a couple coughs from dust.

"It was good." They looked back to him in slight surprise. "Tell her…" He continued. "I said thanks…" Luffy smiled at this.

* * *

"Really?" An extremely happy Rika asked.

"Yeah!" Natsu confirmed. "Dust or fresh, ate every bit of it! Didn't matter if it was stamped on or dirty, he loved it!"

Currently, everyone was sitting in a small alley in town. Natsu was leaning against a small stack of stone stairs that lead to a shop, leaning i=on it with his right elbow, Wendy was siting on top of the bunch of slabs near Natsu, holding her legs in her arms while smiling at this, Luffy was sitting on top of a barrel that was nearby and close to them, and Coby was sitting next to Luffy. Rika was standing in the middle, and Happy and Carla were sitting near each other on top of Wendy's head.

"I'm really glad he liked it…" Rika said quietly.

"Do you guys really think he's as evil as people think?" Coby asked her.

"Of course not!" She immediately shot down. "He's a good guy…He…got himself punished…for us…"

Wendy leaned in a bit. "I'm slightly confused…" She admitted.

"Sorry…" Rika apologized. "It's that stupid Helmemppo." She looked up in sadness and fear. "He's Captain Morgan's son."

She then proceeded to tell them how Zoro got locked up, which started when his pet 'Doggy' which was an orange shaggy wolf came into town and entered Rika's mother's restaurant/bar. It was going to attack Rika after she tried shooing it, but Zoro smashed it across the shop with a barstool, though it took Helmemppo a while to realize it. The main reason he was locked up to begin with was Zoro hit Helmemppo and knocked him across the bar when he tried to attack the Pirate Hunter. This caused the blonde to get up after being threatened by a katana and threaten Zoro back by saying either Rika and her mother are killed then and there, or Zoro stays prisoner at the yard for one whole month. Seeing as he had no real choice and he wasn't as dark-hearted as one assumed to be, he agreed to stay a prisoner for the thirty days ahead.

"It's been three weeks since then." Rika continued. "He keeps getting abused by Helmemppo, punched, kicked, mocked…" She had a couple tears well up in her eyes. "I don't know what to do!" She started crying softly.

Coby sighed. "I now know why you're upset…I'm sorry." He tried to sympathies.

They then heard a crash inside, and they saw said blonde that 'arrested' Zoro with the same two Marines, kicking his leg up and demanding like a king.

"Bring me your finest food and wine, and keep the check to yourself." He spat, apparently hungry. Behind him was a girl with orange hair, watching. Does she seem familiar to you?

"That's better." He said after he got poured a glass of a grape-purple-red wine. "I'm bored as fuck right now, so I'm trying to find something interesting to do."

He then smiled even wider. "I was going to execute Zoro tomorrow anyway, so why not within the hour?" He then gave a hardy, malicious laugh.

Behind them, the group had just seen everything. Everyone was glaring hard at Helmemppo, but Luffy was killing him with his stare. He looked to his right at a pissed Natsu, and he looked back, nodding. Luffy then ran straight up to Helmemppo, and punched him with full force square across his face. This sent him flying across the room, landing directly face first flat into the wall, sliding down.

He then looked up in fear at Luffy. "You…you just hit me!" He squealed.

Luffy tried going again, but Coby held him back. It was hard, but he only just prevented Luffy from continuing.

"This guy is a little shit!" The straw hat growled, and with good reason too.

"You **actually** hit me!" Helmemppo continued to half-cry. "I am the son of Captain Morgan, you know?!"

Natsu walked over to Luffy's side. "Like we give a damn!" He shot back, glaring now as hard as Luffy.

"YOU'll GIVE A DAMN AFTER HE EXECUTES YOU ALL!" Helmemppo threatened once more.

Coby was now starting to really struggle holding the rubber man back. "Luffy, please…just stop…why get on the Marines bad side this soon?!" He asked.

"Guys, I've decided!" Luffy declared. Coby looked up in surprise, just as everyone turned to Luffy in confusion. "Zoro is joining our crew!"

* * *

Upstairs in the giant Marine Base, a man was smoking a cigar and looking out the window, seemingly in pride.

"I. Am. _Great_." He said, triumphal.

A Marine behind him immediately saluted. "Yes sir!" The Marine responded formally. "You are right, Captain Morgan sir!"

"And the fact that the taxes are so small barely even reflect that fact, do they?" The man, apparently the Marine Captain, Morgan asked with his half-raspy growl in his voice.

"Indeed, sir." The Marine replied. "I guess that funding isn't really high up these days, sir."

Morgan continued to stare out the window. "The issue at hand here isn't the funding in taxes they give me…" He said, before pulling out and putting down his cigar. "But how much _respect_ they have for myself."

Suddenly, Helmemppo ran into what was by the look of it Morgan's office, crying with a bag of ice on his left cheek.

"Daddy!" He called. Morgan looked behind him with a grunting "Hm?" Helmemppo was breathing heavily, presumably from the running up there. "Daddy, there's someone I want you to kill. Right here, right now!"

* * *

Outside, Zoro was thinking about everything that happened. 2001 fights, never winning, learning Santoryu…

" _You're weak, Zoro. Nothing ever changes."_

Kuina…

' _I made a promise to her..._ ' Zoro thought to himself. ' _I can't afford to die now…not in a place like this…_ '

His eyes shot open from his thought. After a few seconds, they eased again. He looked up to see two and a half all to familiar figures.

"You guys have things to do, don't you?" Zoro asked impatiently. "Why be here of all places?-"

"If we untie you, you join our crew." Luffy stated with seriousness in his voice.

"Wait, your what?" Zoro asked, confused.

"I run a Pirate Crew, and these are two of my members."

Zoro scoffed. "No way. Why the hell should I go along the path of a criminal? Fuck that, as well as you."

Luffy didn't care about that last bit, as he just continued. "Aw, don't be such a wimp. Besides, it's fun being a pirate!"

"Fun? What part of being a Pirate could possibly be fun?!"

"Come on, it's awesome!" Happy encouraged. "Besides, what difference would it make compared to your reputation of being a cold-hearted demon Bounty Hunter anyway?"

"I don't give a damn what people call me, or what they think of me either. My regrets in life are nigh, and I plan to keep it like that." Zoro then smirked again. Once I complete this challenge, I _will_ go on and continue to accomplish my ambition."

Natsu frowned. "Yeah…" He said slowly. "About that…"

"We've decided you're a member of the crew already!" Luffy concluded.

"What'd you say, bastard?!" Zoro demanded.

"Isn't it obvious why?" Natsu asked sarcastically. "You're one of the best swordsmen around, aren't ya?"

"Of course!" Zoro defended. "If I had my swords, I'd show you right now! But that blonde bowl-headed prick has them."

"Hm." Luffy thought aloud. "Zoro really needs his swords, huh?"

"Yeah." Natsu agreed, nodding. "We should get him them back."

"Wait, what?" Zoro asked.

"You know what else he could use?" Happy asked with a smile. The other two just shrugged, but it looked like they were playing along with something. "A Pirate Crew!"

Natsu and Luffy were now arm in arm dancing in a circle, singing about Zoro joining the crew, while Happy was jumping up and down in the middle of the arm link in the middle, eyes closed and cheering with them.

" **ARE YOU CUNTS TRYING TO FUCKING BLACKMAIL ME!?** " Zoro roared with an Oda Anger so large he had at least thirty razor teeth both top and bottom of the mouth _each_ , a ghost white threatening in his wide, cruel-looking eyes, and his jaw was so low it was about halfway between the dirt and the rest of his head.

"Yep!" The three answered with huge smiles before running off to the right of Zoro. This left him astounded. They were going in there and they hardly looked dangerous at all. He then had another reason for being shocked/startled.

"Hey idiots! The building's the other way!" He called out.

The three turned around and got ready to move. Happy sprouted his angel wings from his back and carried a Natsu with fire on his hands, ready for a fight.

"Up, up, to the swords!" They called as they flew right past Zoro, of whom was completely shocked and freaked out by this, wordless.

This shock only greatened as Luffy's arms stretched and grabbed the gate ahead. He pulled, bringing him flying towards the others. "Wait up!" He called as he went past Zoro.

"What the…who…who are these people?" He asked, still shocked for both their bravery/stupidity and mostly their abilities.

* * *

"Heave!" "Ho!" "Heave!" "Ho!" At the very top of the same building the three boys (one of which was Happy, of course) were headed towards, there was chanting and heavy panting as the Marines were rising up a giant statue of Morgan. Morgan himself was a tall and muscular man. He had blonde hair that was almost completely flat, an iron/stone brace over his jaw, as well as a navy blue singlet/vest, sea blue navy pants with navy blue tiger stripes, and a light blue captains coat. He also had one main feature above all others that stood out: His axe for a right hand, of which the handle even went out of his elbow.

The stature was Morgan with his legs standing straight, but a little out, and his arms were spread wide.

"That's right! Hold it right there!" He ordered. "Step it up in one final pull!" He actually sounded slightly proud of them.

Helmemppo then was directly behind him. "Come on, Father! Are you going to kill this guy, or just be idle and let him get away?!" He demanded "You never hit me once! Why should he be allowed to hit me, let alone in public?..." He whined.

"Do you have any clue as to _why_ I haven't hit you, Helmemppo?" Morgan asked calmly.

Helmemppo got a smug look. "Because I'm your great son?" He asked matter-of-factly.

"No…" Morgan replied. He then slammed Helmemppo high with the back of his axe hand, sending him flying into the wall across the roof. He then stood over Helmemppo with his hand on the back of the axe, glaring at him. "It's because you're a weak disgrace, not even worth the time to hit." He answered simply. "Now listen carefully;" Morgan said, while lifting Helmemppo's shirt up with the front wood of his axe. "The one you call your father…" He pointed to himself with his left hand's thumb. "…is the _truly_ great one around here." He then dropped Helmemppo, not caring about the fear written on his son's face. "Also, I heard someone snuck into the Crucifixion Yard to assist Roranoa." He half growled.

Helmemppo immediately perked his head up. "Oh, about that." He said. "Along with the Marines alongside me, I already took care of that."

"Then she's dead, right?" Morgan asked.

Helmemppo himself was shocked about this. "W-What are you talking about? She's a little girl! I just threw her out of the yard and she probably has broken bones, I can't go as far as kill a kid!"

After about three seconds of a look of anger and disappointment towards his pathetic son, Morgan turned to a Marine with a Van Dyke beard and pointed at him. "You! Go into town, find the bitch, and bring me her head!" He ordered.

The Marine was just as shocked as Helmemppo. "Sir, it's a little girl… I can't possibly do that!"

"And I care of her age or gender _how_?" Morgan shot back. He then walked towards the Marine. "Anyone who disobeys my orders has done nothing less than treason toward _my_ superiority." He stopped, glaring at him "I will ask you of this one last time, going easy on you, because of the occasion of the glorious statue before us. _Go to town. Find the girl._ _ **Kill her**_."

The Marine was extremely intimidated by his Captain, but he still had his dignity and sanity amongst himself, and was not even as cruel if at all whatsoever. "I'm sorry Captain…I can't do it…" He apologized.

Morgan had had enough. He raised his axe toward the height of his shave cut, leaned back, and slammed the back of his axe onto the Marine's head, pretty much murdering him on the spot.

"Lieutenant!" The other Marines rushed to the man in fear and concern.

"You-!" Helmemppo wasn't as concerned, but he was slightly by the look and sound of it, and was just as shocked as everyone else. "You killed him!" He shrieked.

Morgan brung his axe-hand to his head-height once again. "The strength I wield, as well as my axe hand, is how I reached the rank of Marine Captain." He stated with his half-raspy slight growl voice. "Listen well, men!" He demanded, in which they tightened up in fear at his call. "In the world we live in, _title. Is._ _ **Everything**_." He then tuned to his men with a glare. "Since I am the Captain of this base, as well as the highest ranking Marine on this island, _I_ am in charge of this area, to all that reside here, and to all that visit here, _I_ decide what IS and what ISN'T. AM I CORRECT?!"

All Marines, except Helmemppo, who was still staring in fear and wasn't really a Marine himself, immediately broke into a salute at his question. "Sir!" They answered loud and formally. "You are correct, sir!"

"Now, let's hold the thought of that girl's death temporarily." Morgan said. He then tuned his attention back to the giant statue of himself. "Men, observe. This statue is the very marking of my grand authority. My _Greatness_." He raised his axe like he would raise an open hand. "Now raise it high, raise the creation that took years to make, but is finally complete. RAISE MY STATUE, SO ALL OF THIS ISLAND WILL SEE HOW GREAT I TRULY AM!" As he ordered the last sentences involving the statue, the men went back to the ropes, pulling hard to raise the statue above the small city.

* * *

Downstairs, at the ground of the building, the three pirates were looking for the entrance to the base, let alone anyone at all, but to no avail of either.

"Man, this base is confusing…" Natsu wheezed out after running the whole time.

"Yeah." Luffy agreed, huffing himself. "It's a mystery building." He said with his right hand under his chin, holding it, with his left arm holding up his right, much like a detective.

"Aye." Happy concluded. He wasn't as puffed out as the two boys, but he had a limit for his flying, so he wasn't in perfect condition. He quickly dissipated his wings to save energy and landed on the ground.

"Anyway, we need to find that blonde guy and get Zoro's swords back." Luffy reminded. The other two agreed to this, nodding. They then looked up, having heard something.

* * *

Upstairs, the statue was gradually being pulled up without any real issues…at least until the left hand of the statue (the only hand) hit the top of the shelter. The man who accidently did this immediately felt a cold pressure in his spine.

"You there." This made it even worse, as he looked up and saw his terrifying Captain right there. "You bumped it." Downstairs, the two boys and cat looked up in confusion, wandering what was happening up there.

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" The Marine apologized, intimidated to the fullest.

"Even the lightest scratch…" Morgan growled. "Is considered nothing lower than _treason_ , punishable by death sentence!"

"I say we take a look!" Luffy suggested.

Natsu and Happy nodded at this. "Yeah!" They agreed. Happy sprouted his wings again and picked up Natsu from the back.

"Hey Luffy." Luffy turned to Happy, as did Natsu. "Do you want me to take Natsu up and come back for you?"

Luffy gave an Oda Wave-Off, passing this up. "Nah, it's fine!" Luffy reasoned. " _I_ have Gum-Gum powers." He said, putting his left arm over his right in an upward bent punching stance (arm out and turned up by the elbow 90 degrees with the other hand on the outward arm's bicep).

Natsu laughed. "Let's see what trouble happens this time!" So far, every time Luffy had done this thing, it always caused trouble; that was the best part of it!

"Well, we'll see you up there!" Happy fair welled as he started to fly up.

Luffy gave his trademark grin as he gave a quick chuckle. He then pulled his arm back and pushed it up to the top of the building. " **Gum-Gum...** " He then reached his right hand to the top as it grabbed the ledge of the top floor. " **Rocket!** " He launched up while grabbing his arm with his left hand for balance. He passed directly past Natsu and Happy, as they were ¾ of the way up there.

Upstairs, Morgan was about to kill the Marine for the slightest incident. Just before he could do so, he saw something fly up into the sky, which turned out to be Luffy.

"AAAHHH!" He cried. "I went to high!" While the Marines and Morgan were questioning what it was, Natsu and Happy landed directly behind them, also wandering what the commotion was about. They then saw their friend, flying like their cat friend.

"Fly, rubber-man, fly!" Natsu called out for fun, which caused Happy to attempt to hold in some laughter. Fortunately, nobody had noticed them yet, let alone heard that joke.

At this very moment, Luffy had grabbed one of the ropes holding up Morgan's statue. "Got it!" He declared, which scared the living hell out of the Marines below.

This caused the statue to fall back as Luffy landed, making every Marine grab the ropes and hold on to keep it in tact, and for their own very lives. It did little good though, as the top half broke of, causing the Marines to go into a huge Oda Shock, Morgan to go into flat tears of shock with nothing but white in his eyes, and Helmemppo to gape and point towards Luffy.

Halfway between falling and landing on the ground, Luffy could say only one thing. "My apologies…" As soon as it landed, shattering into tiny pebbles, Morgan was pissed.

" **CEASE THAT MOTHERFUCKER SO I CAN SLAUGHTER HIM MYSELF!** " He roared.

As Helmemppo pointed to Luffy again, saying that was the guy that hit him, before anything else could happen, Natsu walked up to Helmemppo, tapping him on the shoulder.

"Long time no see, asshole!" Natsu said with a smile, Happy on his right shoulder. Helmemppo had dots for eyes before he tried to run off, crying, but Natsu had a grip on his shoulder. "You know we really need something right now, and we thought you might be the guy to have it! Could you come with us for a moment? Thanks!" As he said those last two sentences, he had grabbed Helmemppo, and him and Luffy had started running inside the building to get Zoro's katana back.

"Helmemppo!" The Marines called out.

"Get those pricks, and kill them!" Morgan ordered.

"Captain!" Morgan turned to the Marine that called him. "There are two kids and a cat going into the Crucifixion Yard!" There, Wendy, Coby and Carla were going towards Zoro, Carla with the same angel wings as Happy.

"Treason…" Morgan growled lowly. "Treason everywhere…"

Inside, an orange-haired girl had snuck into the inside, landing in front of a door. Just as she was going to unlock it, she heard running, in which she quickly hid behind the wall as they ran by, one of the shouting "After him!"

She frowned with slight anger. "Someone's rocking the boat." She muttered, before she ran off.

Ahead of the Marines chasing, the three were running with Helmemppo in tow, trying to find the swords.

"Hey, Homoppo, we gotta find these swords for Zoro, so could you just tell us where they are already?" Natsu asked as Luffy dragged him on.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you, please just keep me off the carpet…" Helmemppo begged.

They then came to a stop, about thirty feet from the next hallway. "Alright then, where to?" Luffy asked.

"That way…" The blonde answered, pointing behind Luffy. "Back there, second door to the left, we just passed it…" He sulked in agony.

"Well, you could have told us earlier!" Happy complained. He shook his head slowly. "Now we have to go all the way back…"

Oda Anger instantly showed up on the Devil Fruit Users. "YOU AREN'T EVEN RUNNING!" They complained, even as Happy continued to shake his head.

"Freeze!" They turned to see three Marines behind them, all with shotguns.

"First, drop Helmemppo." Another of them ordered, the one on the left. "Then from there, don't move!"

"Hold that thought." Natsu replied. He and Luffy then held Helmemppo in front of them as a human shield/hostage.

"Fire at will." Luffy declared bluntly.

Helmemppo immediately freaked out. "NOOOOO!" He shouted as the two boys continued to run with him toward his bedroom. "Hold your fire, hold your fire! AAAHHHHH!"

* * *

Outside, Wendy and Coby were untying Zoro from his post. Well, trying anyway.

"Look, you two do realize they'll kill you both for what you're doing, don't you?" Zoro asked, shock, confused and irritated.

"Looking at those Marines like this is too hurting…" Wendy answered. I'm not becoming one, but even I can tell this is too wrong of them."

"Yeah." Coby agreed. "A true Marine should be honorable of his duties to _protect_ citizens, not _terrorize_ them!"

Zoro looked up a bit, expression still the same. "Look you two, I only have ten days left, so could you just sto-"

"Make that minutes, and you're right." Carla interfered, standing on the rope Wendy was untying, trying to help.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro asked, confused.

"Helmemppo never intended to hold up your end of the deal. He's executing you in less than an hour!" Coby informed.

"What!?" Zoro asked, shocked by this revelation.

"He wanted to kill you from the start." Wendy continued. "That's why on your behalf, Luffy punched you and he and Natsu defended you."

Zoro was now glaring forward, pissed at the Marines, and especially the horrid father and son. "They did?" He asked.

"Yeah." Coby confirmed. "Now because of all that's happened, the corrupted Marines are now focusing on catching Luffy, Natsu and Happy as a first priority." He then looked at Zoro with a slight smile. "Don't worry, I won't ask you to become a Pirate, and Wendy is still trying to decide." He then turned back to the rope on Zoro's right arm, now with a serious face again. "But we can ask you of one thing; help them. You have a lot of strength and can have a chance at defeating them." Zoro continued to glare straight ahead.

"Zoro, they're the only ones who can save you from this ordeal and bring them down from their reign of terror." Carla informed him.

"And, in turn," Wendy added. "You have to try and save them from the same thing."

"If you guys work together…" Coby assured. "I'm sure everything here will be alright-"

BANG!

Coby fell down, as blood spurted from his chest. It appeared he had been shot from someone. It wasn't anything vital, but it could cause nausea and throwing up easy after about 10-20 minutes. If it were left for about an hour to three without anything done, it could put him into a coma.

"COBY!" Wendy and Carla shrieked in fear. I mean, their friend was just shot. Who wouldn't freak out?

"Hey. You alright?" Oh, right. Zoro.

"I'm shot!" Coby cried, as he put his hand to his bleeding chest, pulling it off and seeing blood through his shirt. "I'M GONNA DIE!"

"If that shot doesn't kill you, you're gonna die anyway with your pathetic friends!" They turned to see Morgan, pissed, as well as all the Marines that worked at the Shell Town Marine Base wielding a shotgun aiming at them.

"For the crime of treason against myself and the Marines;" Morgan declared. "I hereby sentence you to death, right where you stand!"

Coby was freaking out, even when getting up despite being shot, Zoro was actually shaken slightly, and Carla was in between.

"Really?" Wendy asked with a blunt expression. Carla gaped at her in surprise of why she wasn't scared.

Zoro's reason for being shaken was his promise. He had the memory again. Kuina. ' _No…_ ' He thought, shaken and slightly scared. ' _I can't afford to die, especially not like this!_ '

* * *

In the base, the three were dragging Helmemppo still, as they walked into another room that the blonde douche had guided them to.

Natsu smiled, trying to hold in laughter. "1000 beri says this is his room." Natsu challenged.

Luffy smiled back. "Like I wanna lose any money this early!" It was definitely a room that represented Helmemppo, all right. It had a "My Room" sign out the front with a wreath around it on the door. Inside, what could be seen was a mirror with two pink curtains covering the corners, and a fancy stool and desk with makeup and two pillars next to the desk with shrubs growing out of them. To the left, close to the window there were a few more items, such as two mirrors, both different sizes, three swords, presumably katana, and a pink armchair with a brass-coloured surrounding on the outside.

…

Wait… katana?

"Bingo!" Happy cheered.

They walked over to them, which Luffy questioned why there were three. As he looked to Helmemppo for answers, all he found was an unconscious blonde in his grip.

Natsu then heard something of which his hearing was equivalent to that of a Dragon from his Devil Fruit. "Hm?" he walked up to the window and stiffened. He saw what was happening. "Wendy! Coby! Carla!" He called out, even if he knew only Luffy and Happy could really hear him.

"What is it?" And this was now exaggerated, as Luffy had just asked that question.

Natsu turned to the boy, cat, and unconscious brat. "We got a problem." He frowned. He then pointed toward the window. "They're about to shoot all four of them.

Luffy looked outside, with Happy on his head, after of course he just nonchantly dropped Helmemppo.

"Tell me, Roranoa Zoro, is this just some poor revolution alongside the Straw-Hat you planned, along with those pathetic friends of his?!" Morgan demanded back downstairs.

"I'm a true man; I fight alone!" Zoro retorted. "Unlike you, I don't just use people as shields while I speak for myself, let alone poorly trained 'Subordinates'!"

"SILENCE!" Morgan demanded, even slightly shocking Wendy a bit. "You shouldn't underestimate me, 'Pirate Hunter'…" He spat. "You may be strong. But to my authority, you're a pathetic little shit that can be considered as much trash as you would find in the alleys around the world."

"Take aim!" The shotguns loaded, ready to fire. This caused Zoro to remember again.

" _You're weak, Zoro. Nothing Ever changes."_

' _No…_ ' Zoro thought. ' _I can't die! Not now!_ '

"Ready!"

" **Gum-Gum…** " Upstairs, Natsu and Happy were grabbing on to Luffy, who was about to launch into the yard to help out their friends, who were about to…well, y'know, die. As Luffy had the katana attached to his back by two ropes.

" **Rocket!** "

"FIRE!"

As the guns fired toward Zoro, Coby, Wendy and Carla, Luffy, Natsu and Happy launched out of the window, breaking the glass. They zoomed in closer…closer…

As soon as they landed, Happy glided over to the others, Natsu drop-rolled over toward where Wendy and Coby were, and Luffy just stood in front of everyone, arms wide and eyes covered by his hat.

"What?!"

Luffy, no!"

"Straw Hat!"

After Zoro, Coby and Morgan shouted something, in that order might I add, The bullets went a bit further, until they were ¼ of the way behind Luffy toward the others.

This shocked all the guards, as well as Coby and Zoro. Wendy and Carla looked caught off guard, as did Morgan. But the question was; why weren't Wendy and Carla having the same reactions as everyone else?

Luffy smirked under his hat, and then pushed his chest out, sending all the bullets that hit him flying to the Marines. "That won't work!" He yelled, triumphal.

As the Marines just stared on in shock and scared amazement, Luffy was laughing his ass off, with his friends, sans Coby and Zoro, of course, smiling, Natsu with a toothy grin.

"OI!" Zoro called out. "Who in the name of fuck are you?!" He demanded.

Luffy turned around and smirked. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy. I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

Zoro was shocked at this, but still serious and questioning. "Hold up." He said. " _You're_ going to be Pirate King? Please! Your brain must be just as rubbery as the rest of you!" He scoffed. "Do you have any idea what that is?"

Luffy smiled. "Exactly what the title says; 'King of the Pirates'!"

Coby got up, having eased up of the shooting earlier and smiled. "When he first told me, I was just as shocked and doubting as you were. But he has every possible intention to become King of the Pirates! From gathering the ultimate crew to obtaining the One Piece, he means everything he's ever said!"

Luffy gave his trademark grin and laughed at Coby's words, glad he got the message and had faith in him.

"He told us all about it while we were on the way here." Zoro turned to Wendy. "He's trying his best with his Devil Fruit to try and become King of the Pirates, always being out there for his friends, who he will show as much loyalty as they will him. Luffy's a really nice guy. They all are! I hope you join them!" For some reason, Zoro felt a little at ease from those words.

Luffy smiled again. "Thanks, Bed sheet!"

Wendy Mashima Deadpanned after Luffy said this. "You're not real good with names for the first few days, are you?" She asked, sighing.

Luffy had an epiphany. "Oh yeah!" He quickly held out the three swords he got back. Two of them looked like everyday black katana that you could find in a smith. Their hilts were black with the diamond-shape pattern being red and their Sheaths being black. The other one looked quite different, having a silver blade, though they couldn't see that now, and the Nagamaki being a dusty silver with the pattern being a pale green. The Sheath was more of a light Beige colour. "I got them back from D'Amico." He informed, though messing up Helmemppo yet again. "I had no damn clue which is yours, so I got all of them so you could tell me which it is."

"All three of them are mine." Zoro said plainly. "I use Santoryu, the Three-Sword Style." He wriggled his arms in the ropes as he finished.

Luffy quickly pulled them back, giving a "Hm.", as if confirming something. He then held them back to Zoro, smiling in anticipation. "Come on, take them!" He encouraged. "Remember, if you fight them with us now, you're gonna be a Government-recognized criminal, so you're going to be in one of two places in an hour tops: my Pirate Crew, or the Afterlife."

Zoro smirked. "You son of the devil." He commented. "Look, I need to do something important, and dying is the last thing that will help. Besides, liem you said, Pirate or Death. Fuck the latter," He narrowed his eyes, still smirking. "I'm becoming a Pirate!"

Eruptions of cheers came from the kids, namely Luffy, as they had the first crewmember right in front of them.

Zoro, however, wasn't in the mood. "Less celebrating, more untying!" He ordered.

Back with the Marines, who the others had neglected the entire past two minutes, were still gawking and surprised at the showing of a Devil Fruit Power, though they didn't know what it was until after the next ten seconds of what Morgan was going to say.

"The Straw-Hat isn't a full human like all of us. He must have eaten one of the rumored Devil Fruits we've heard about."

He went into an explanation of all he knew about Devil Fruits, the basics. How they each gave to whoever eats one of them first gains an ability that nothing else could give them. The power to breathe fire, the power to cause tsunamis. Though almost nothing is known in the blues, and most of the knowledge is within the Grand Line itself.

"He has eaten one of the Devil Fruits, and it's possible that some of the others have to. There's no denying it: That rubber effect has to be the work of the Sea Devil!"

They were being ignored again, as Luffy was _attempting_ to try and untie Zoro's ropes, which was pissing him off of how long it was taking.

"I don't give a damn, and neither should you!" Morgan declared. "If it won't be death by shot, it'll be death by CHOP!" This ignited the Marines to charge ahead to cut them up, running ahead with fencing-like swords and sabers.

"Over the hoop, into the valley, and we got one!" Luffy said as he untied the rope on Zoro's right, now holding it.

Zoro had now officially lost his cool. "THAT'S IT!" He roared. "GIVE ME ONE OF MY FUCKING SWORDS _**NOW!**_ "

The Marines charged ahead, ready to kill them then and there. They all brung down their melee weapons onto them.

"NO!" Coby cried.

It was all in the flash of light, and the blink of an eye. Zoro was right now holding all his swords, the silver and beige one in his jaw, and blocking off every Marine who charged at them.

"Roranoa Zoro…" Morgan stared in slight awe at his skills. Even if he still believed he was inferior to himself, he had to admit that Zoro had excellent fighting skills.

Coby and Carla smiled, glad that Zoro was okay and able to fight. The other four…

"SO COOL!" …had stars in their eyes, gawking at the awesomeness before them.

Zoro looked up with his eyeballs as the Marines were looking at him, just as intimidated and impressed at his skill to hold them all back at once.

"Moving equals death. Got it?" Zoro threatened through clenched teeth on his sword.

The Marines started having flat tears in fear of his strength and demon aura. "Scary…" One of them barely managed to choke.

As the clouds above them crossed the sun, leaving the shade and sun to blend, Zoro turned his attention back to the others, namely Luffy. "Alright, now that I've fought against the Marines, I'm officially a criminal in the eyes of the government, so I'll become a member of your crew. However, even under your flag, I only dedicate myself to _my_ own ambition." He declared.

"Go on." Natsu stated, interested in his ambition.

"My goal is to become the greatest swordsman in the world and no lesser a title than that." He then narrowed his eyebrows. "If I have to give that up for you and your crew, I place _you_ in charge of it. Your open stomach will apologize afterwards."

Wendy took her last name and used it in this situation. "Wow!" She supported. "I like the sound of that. I really hope you can get there!"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah. Sounds pretty good!" He agreed. "As the future Pirate King, only the best can be in my crew. You understate qualified!"

Zoro smirked. "Heh. Well said." He admitted. "Whether my name be clean or wanted, I _will_ have my name, Roranoa Zoro, be known across the world!"

Morgan was still pissed at everyone. "What the fuck are you doing?!" He demanded. "Kill all of them right now!"

Every single Marine tensed up and had a chill down their spine. They didn't know what to do, or how to beat a powerful Santoryu and at minimum one Devil Fruit User.

"Hey Zoro, duck!" Luffy's call immediately shocked Zoro, but he complied. " **Gum-Gum…** " He pulled his leg back, which immediately stretched as he pulled it back forward. He then aimed at the straight line of Marines behind Zoro, where the latter ducked. " **Whip!** " Luffy's Whip managed to strike down every Marine, just going above Zoro. The impact of the kick sent them flying into the dirt on the side of them, though the entire ground of the Crucifixion Yard was dirt…

As Morgan gawked in surprise, and Coby and everyone else praised Luffy, Zoro got back up. "What are you anyway?" He asked.

"I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit!" Luffy replied smiling as he bent his leg up and down.

"Gum-Gum Fruit?" Zoro was confused about Devil Fruits, knowing as much as Coby before meeting Luffy.

"A Rubber person?" A Marine asked as they lay on the ground from the Whip earlier.

"That proves it." Morgan states. "He _is_ a Devil Fruit User."

"Please, Captain, we don't stand a chance against Santoryu and a Devil Fruit!" A Marine complained in fear.

"We couldn't even defeat Zoro alone! With this many people, we have no hope!" Another said.

Morgan frowned, shadows over his eyes. "Listen well, this is a direct order!:" Morgan stated as he lifted his axe-hand. "All who spouted weakness, you are to shoot yourself with the shotgun you wield this instant!"

The Marines hesitated insanely, but they halfway did it. They now had their shotgun pointed to themselves in the head and had a hand on the trigger.

"Pathetic." Zoro spat. "Demanding suicide because they have reason. This'll be too easy."

Before anything, Luffy was charging toward the Marine Captain. "Luffy!" Said boy didn't even hear Coby as he charged ahead. He attempted to punch Morgan Square-on, but his fist met an axe almost instantly.

Zoro could tell what was happening here and removed the sword from his jaw.

"You rankless scum!" Morgan growled. He then tossed off his Captain's Coat and got into his battle stance. "I will show you all of your insignificance to my own superiority. _I am Marine Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan!_ "

Luffy just stared. "And I'm Luffy." He greeted casually. "Nice to meet you."

Morgan made a lunge for Luffy, swinging his axe. He turned around and aimed for Luffy again with as much force as possible. This shockwave cut off half the wired gate without even close to contact. This shocked Wendy and Carla. Morgan then looked down in front of him and saw Luffy yet again. Determined to crush him, he grabbed the handle of his axe in his elbow, raised his axe high and slammed it down, only just missing and instead causing a small fissure in front of him, scaring Coby to a half Oda Shock.

As Luffy had jumped up to dodge that last attack, he had his legs pulled up while holding down his straw hat. He slammed his feet like a spring or spear into Morgan's face, forcing him back and to land with his hand in a crouching-like stance.

"Look!" One of the Marines said, shocked. "Morgan just got hit!"

Morgan slowly got back up, still on his hand and feet. "You little prick…" He growled.

Luffy got up, ready to attack him again, and ran towards Morgan. However, the terrorizing Captain was raising his axe again. "NOW DIE!" He barked.

As he slammed down his axe, Luffy span out of the way. "I don't think so!" He said smiling. "Hey Natsu, you're up!" He shouted.

From behind Luffy, a figure ran up towards them and jumped, revealing to be Natsu. "Peekaboo!" He chanted. He brung his arm back, coating it in fire. " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!** " As he said 'Fist', Natsu slammed his fist into Morgan, knocking him even further back than before when Luffy speared him.

The Marines were gaping at the fight ahead of them. "Look, they're working together against Morgan!" One of them said, amazed.

"The Captain's getting toyed with out there, like a ragdoll!" Another said.

Luffy looked over Morgan with a look that said 'Murder and Vengeance', or even 'Justice', despite being a Pirate. "You call yourself a Marine." Luffy growled. He then punched Morgan hard. "All you do is terrorize towns and destroy people's dreams, like Coby's!" He rose his fist again to sock him.

"STRAW-HAT! STOP RIGHT THERE!" A voice demanded. Luffy wasn't even paying attention and continued to punch Morgan.

"Are you a fucking idiot?!" Helmemppo questioned. "Do you not realize I have a hostage here in my possession?!" It was true. The blonde spoilt brat had a Flintlock pointed directly to Coby's head at point blank range, the former shaking in the legs and the latter slightly scared.

"He's insane…" Once of the Marines commented.

"Oi." Natsu attempted to get Luffy's attention beside him, which was rather important right now. In fact, Natsu's call was the only way Luffy snapped out of destroying Morgan.

"If you value the little shit's life, don't move!" Helmemppo threatened. "One move from any of you and the last thing he sees is the juices of his brain flowing out!"

Coby was visibly scared and all Luffy did was stare at him. After about ten seconds, Luffy just smiled at Coby. The latter instantly remembered what Luffy said earlier.

"Luffy, listen!" He shouted. "Whatever happens to me doesn't matter! You need to bring these Marines to justice! Even if it means I die-"

"Yeah, you got it, Coby!" Luffy assured. He then put his left hand on his right bicep again. "You hear that, dumbass?" Luffy called out to Helmemppo. He then walked up to him slowly. "Coby's ready to die! Can you do it?"

Helmemppo was shaking harder now, confused as to why his threat wasn't working. "I swear, you stop right there, or your friends eating blood and brain as his last meal!" He warned shakily.

An axe was raised, particularly above Luffy. "LUFFY!" Coby shouted, afraid of Luffy getting killed.'

Luffy didn't really care. " **Gum-Gum…** " He prepared, bringing is arm back for a long-range punch.

"Times up." Morgan spat from behind. "For I am fearless Captain 'Axe-Hand' Morgan!"

Zoro immediately prepared his katana, knowing what was going to happen.

Helmemppo quickly grabbed Coby and pulled him in with the Flintlock impossible to miss now. "Come on, Daddy, hurry! Kill him already!"

Wendy was frowning, hair and shadows covering her eyes. She then growled and dashed ahead toward Morgan.

"Child!" Carla shouted in fear. "What are you doing?!"

" **Pistol!** " Luffy shot his fist forward, aiming to hit Helmemppo directly in the face, which succeeded, but there was still Morgan, who had now begun to bring down his axe. Before he could something happened.

" **Sky Dragons…** "

This immediately got Natsu's attention. "Wait." He said. "Did I just hear…"

" **Roar!** " A stream of air pushed out from Wendy and struck Morgan before he could hit Luffy, sending him flying into the air.

Zoro put this to his advantage and quickly ran and jumped up. He then sliced Morgan clean with his katana before swiftly landing in the ground, Morgan crashing into the ground behind, making a large crater.

Luffy turned around quickly to the two. "Much obliged." He said quickly and almost immediately after Morgan landed.

"Just doing my job, Captain." Zoro stated with a smile, sword in jaw still in tow. Wendy just smiled a toothy grin, showing the very faint dragon fangs like Natsu had. It was hard to see them, but they were there.

Everything was finally over. Morgan had finally fallen, and everything appeared calm and peaceful again. All that was left was for the Marines to stare in awe, get challenged by Zoro, and for the Marines to celebrate that Morgan had finally fallen after three long years.

Zoro suddenly fell, like he was stabbed. The three boys, Wendy, and both the cats quickly ran over to his aid.

"Are you okay, Zoro?" Wendy asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Zoro answered. "Just…Hungry…" Luffy and Natsu smiled at his last comment.

* * *

Back inside, the orange-haired girl just finished up tying two of the Marines inside together, saying they'll just have to stay there for a bit.

She then walked into Morgan's former office, looking around for something by the looks of it. "Come on…" She groaned. "Where is it…" After she checked one of the desk drawers, she looked ahead, only to find what she was looking for, directly behind a barrel: a safe. It was small, but there.

After pushing the main barrel in the road out of the way, she grabbed the handle to the safe, somehow opening without her using the combination.

She smiled when she saw a rolled up piece of paper in there, believing it was what she was looking for. "Yes!" She cheered half-silent. "A chart of the Grand Line! I knew they had one hidden in the base!"

She then opened the paper, only to find a note of it already being taken. She saw a Jolly Roger. "What mark is that one?" She asked herself out loud. It was a simple Jolly Roger, Skull & Crossbones. This one's specific details were it had lines going vertically and horizontally like face paint over the eyes, and a big red nose in the middle of the skull.

"So…" She said, slightly shaken. "It's Buggy…"

* * *

In the middle of town, where almost every, if not all citizen(s) had gathered around, was the group of seven eating up after the whole issue with Morgan.

"Yeah! Hahah! That's the stuff!" Zoro cheered inside. "Finally, after almost three weeks, some food! I was so hungry if I stayed there another day my insides would have started eating themselves!" He rubbed his gut after eating all that food.

In fact, all of them were happy. Including Rika and her mother, Ririka, both of them helping feed the group, all nine of them were enjoying themselves. The three fighting guys were at one table, as well as Happy, with Wendy, Coby and Carla at the once closest to them. It was at the bar that Ririka ran, and as such, the mother and daughter were at the bar helping wash up and cook for them. All in all, everything was good. And after the whole thing that went for three years, you'd hope so too.

As Luffy had another bite and flicked the fork out of his mouth with his rubber bouncing back, he lightly scoffed. "That whole time and you're done already? Lightweight." He lightly insulted.

Natsu was the same. "Yeah! Come on, man! It's awesome! Why pass it up?"

Zoro pointed to both of them and then down to the middle of the plates, not moving his head. "How in the living hell can you two eat more than a guy who hasn't eaten in nearly a month, anyway?" He asked while he did just as described.

Camera view was now on Coby. "It's too yummy not to eat!" Happy answered. "Right, Coby?"

Coby looked flustered and had his hand behind his head. "Er, yeah. Thanks for the food." He said quickly and as flustered as he appeared.

"My pleasure!" Ririka replied. "You guys did save us from that terror after three years after all. It's the least I could do!"

Meanwhile, Luffy and Rika were having a small chat of their own. "You guys are the best people ever! Thanks!" Rika praised.

"It's fine!' Luffy said, still mouth full again. "When I'm King of the Pirates, I'll be even awesomer!" He turned to Zoro. "Not only that, but I'll have the best crew in the world too!"

Zoro smiled. "Yeah, about that;" He asked, interested. "How many other people have we got?"

Luffy looked up in slight confusion. "Que¿"

"You said you were forming a pirate crew didn't you? And if that's the case, you gotta have some people already there, right?" Zoro continued.

Luffy smiled. "Nope! Just me, Natsu, Happy, and you!"

Zoro was slightly taken aback. He then remembered something. "What about those two?" He pointed to Wendy and Carla.

"Well, I have to go wherever Wendy goes, and she's thinking about joining them." She stated simply.

"Probably by the next island." Wendy confirmed She turned back to Zoro. "So technically, you're the first!"

Okay, Zoro was now completely taken aback. Shocked and almost wordless; something that's hard to find coming from him. "S-So…" He stuttered slightly. He pointed to himself. "The…" He pointed up, representing one. If you listened hard enough, you could swear you heard cartoon sound effects as he pointed.

"Yep, you're the first! Welcome aboard!" Luffy welcomed with a smile.

"…Alright, fine." Zoro gave up. Oh, but there was more to come with his next question. "But you at least _do_ have a ship, right?"

"Of course we do!" Natsu stated like the obvious. "None of us live here, so how else could we get to Shell Town?"

"Alright then. Where is it?" Zoro asked, curious again.

"Right outside!" Wendy pointed outside with a smile.

Zoro looked outside to find their ship, only to see a small dingy with a barrel and two rowing oars. To make it look even more insulting, a dog was pissing on it.

Zoro looked at it with narrowed eyes and annoyance. "Shit…" He muttered.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that!" Luffy tried to encourage him from behind. "We'll have a huge ship soon enough!"

This caused one of the few times Zoro, for the entirety as a Straw Hat Pirate, laughed. "And how's that gonna happen?" He asked smirking, an eyebrow up, and hand on hip.

"A beautiful exterior…" Natsu imagined.

"Awesome interior…" Happy continued.

"With a great big Jolly Roger flag on top!" Luffy concluded as he took another bite of food.

They could just imagine it now. A beautiful ship with 1-3 masts, two small black flags up top bearing their symbol, and standing at the front, daring all who oppose them to come at them in a fight to the death.

"I can't wait!" Luffy exclaimed with his mouth full, excited.

"You know, I think you guys might be missing that one part of the brain that allows you to plan ahead!" Coby sighed with a smile.

"Whether I join you guys or not, I really can't wait to see what the ship looks like!" Wendy cheered.

"I know!" Happy said confidently. "It's gonna be huge, have a tank for fish, a beautiful figurehead, everything!"

Carla mustered up a smile herself. "To be honest, I myself am looking forward to seeing what the ship looks like. Quite suspenseful." She remarked.

Zoro was still at the window, gritted teeth and his finger on his forehead from a headache due to all of this. "I can't believe out of all the Pirate Crews in the world I could have joined like this, it had to be with this bunch of idiots…" He muttered/spat in annoyance. He would soon realize today was the simplest say of that matter.

"Come on, Zoro!" Luffy encouraged. "We'll have plenty of crewmates soon enough. Just you wait!" He was still eating and smiling after all this.

Rika turned back to Luffy. "Hey Luffy!" The Gum-Gum man turned to the little girl. "Where are you going when you leave here?"

Luffy immediately broke into a toothy grin. "Isn't it obvious, Rika? Where else could we go?" He smiled even wider. "To the Grand Line!"

Coby immediately spat out his drink through every hole in his head that wasn't his eye sockets. "NO! You can't!" Coby doubted once more. "How can a small group like yours possibly make it through a place that's hell and out and think you'll make it?!" He then went on to explain how Gold Roger, the Kind of the Pirates, had left his treasure in one place, supposedly in the Grand Line, and how it was a battlefield where nobody that has entered has left alive.

"Because that's where the One Piece is hidden!" Luffy answered like it was as clear as seeing through an invisible wall, even when there wasn't one there. "And to be Kind of the Pirates, that's where we're going!" Natsu, Wendy and Happy cheered "Yeah!" at this while Carla smiled and agreed.

Zoro laid back in his chair smiling. "Looks like I'm gonna have to deal with it." He said.

Coby ran towards Zoro. "How can you possibly agree to this insanity?!" He screamed.

"You're not coming, why do you care?" Zoro asked, sounding slightly bored.

"I still care and worry for you guys…" Coby answered. "Can't someone worry about their friend's safety?" He turned to Luffy as he asked that question.

Luffy simply smiled. "Yeah!" He agreed. "We may part ways and be on opposite sides of the law, but we'll always stay friends!"

Coby was taken aback. Luffy may be an idiot in normal practice, but he was smart in three different things above anything: Fighting, Friends, and Words. Coby smiled. He hadn't had friends when he was younger, always getting picked on. He had never fought for anything until now. These legends before him had taught him to fight for your dreams and what you believe is truly right.

"Also," Zoro brought up. "You gotta be quite concerned about your situation of becoming a Marine." Coby had forgotten all about this and knew what Zoro was going to say next. "Although it was just as a Navigator and Cabin Boy by force, you were still a pirate for two whole years. Don't you think that you should be concerned about the chances of them accepting you?" Coby hung his head in slight shame, knowing he was right. It was still hard to believe though.

The door to the bar then opened. "Hey, you!" A Marine called. He definitely wasn't, but he looked similar to the man Morgan killed back atop of the tower. He walked over to the group, eyes shadowed by his hat, as was every Marine behind him. "We heard that you're actually Pirates. Is this information true?"

Luffy immediately smiled. "Yep!" He said. "Since Zoro joined, it's pretty much an official crew."

"I see." He adjusted his hat. "You see, as Marines, now that we know you're pirates, we cannot allow you to do as you please around civility. Therefore, we ask that you leave this town immediately. However, out of respect for what you have done for the entire island, when we report of this to Headquarters, we will not apply your occupation."

The citizens behind the Marines were beyond pissed, and they were demanding they apologize, saying they were the saviors of the city, and even they were just as scared and needed to be truly grateful for what they had done.

Luffy simply grinned toothily. "Well, time to go!" He, Zoro, Natsu and Happy got up, shadows over their eyes, and walked past them.

The Marine looked toward the other three. "Aren't you three with them?" He asked.

Wendy looked at the Marine. "In a way." She said "Carla and I are just travelling with them right now, but I'm thinking of joining them!" She answered with a smile. She then went past the Marine with Carla flying with her.

The Marine finally turned to Coby. "And you?" Coby started to get a little nervous now. He couldn't answer, and the group was already leaving.

"Hold it!" Luffy, with his bag of food over his shoulder and eyes shadowed by his hat, turned around to the Marine's call. "Is he with you, or isn't he?" He asked.

Luffy immediately smiled. "How about I tell you what he's been doing instead?" He replied.

Coby turned around in shock of this revelation. ' _Luffy, you wouldn't…_ ' He thought.

But goddamn, he was wrong. "There was a lardass that we found before we came here, I think Alvida was her name!" He walked up to Coby. "She had a huge iron club, about the size of her fat if you cut it all out!" He pointed and poked Coby. "Two years, this kid was her own Cabin Boy by force!"

Coby was getting slightly angry now. ' _Luffy, please! You can't do this to me!_ ' He begged in his head.

Luffy continued. "And _then_ he-" But that was until Coby punched Luffy in the face to get him to stop, which worked. Everyone was staring in shock, except for Zoro and Natsu, both smiling, the latter with his trademark.

Luffy smirked himself. "That was pretty stupid of you!" He then punched Coby himself, and continued to do so for about an entire minute.

"Enough already!" The marine demanded. "It's obvious you to are nowhere near friends or in the same organization! Leave this instant!" Luffy smirked and took his leave, leaving Coby on the ground to realize that the entire thing was deliberate. He started to doubt himself to be able to become a Marine if all he could do was rely on others to help him all the time.

He immediately shot up to make a difference and prove something had changed. "Sir!" He said. The Marine turned to him. "Please, you have to let me join the Marines! I'll do anything to join, _ANYTHING!_ " He bowed in respect. "Please, let me be a Marine…"

"Lieutenant." Another Marine came behind him. "I can't help but decide against the idea of letting him join." Coby hadn't budged even at these words. "I say a background check would be a good start."

Coby shot his head up. "No matter what you do, I _will_ become a man who will be a Marine!" He declared in seriousness.

The Marines stared at him, some in slight shock. The Lieutenant stared at him, Coby stared back. The Marine then began to walk past Coby. "I can't tell you over the years how many lives have been taken by the likes of criminal personnel, namely pirates. This is a big step for you."

Coby's eyes widened. "Does this mean…" He said.

"You're in, kid." The Marine granted. Coby smiled. Even if it meant he was just a Chore Boy, he was glad to finally be a Marine.

He immediately turned around and saluted the Lieutenant. "Sir!"

* * *

Down at the docks, the orange-haired girl was in a small dingy of her own on the right end of a wooden docking board, once again looking at the paper she found, who apparently was signed and owned by some guy named Buggy.

Coming down to the docks were the group of six, heading to their dingy on the left end of the docking board. "That was some shitty acting, I say." Zoro stated. "You sure it'll be okay?"

"Of course!" Luffy said. "I have faith in Coby. He'll be a great Marine!"

Happy, who was flying next to Carla on the right of everyone, turned to everyone else. "Hey guys, isn't it fitting that we're leaving as we are, alone with the town afraid of us and the Marines hating us?" He asked.

"Yep." Zoro replied. "Quite Pirate-like if I do say so myself."

Natsu gave a toothy smile as he held the rope holding the ship in. "Now that you mention it, it does!"

"Guys!" They turned to see the owner of the call, Coby, with Rika and her mother behind him to the side. The now Chore Boy saluted immediately to them. "I'll never be out of debt for what you've done for me! Thank you!" he praised.

Wendy looked on in slight confusion. "I've heard of Pirates helping Marines before and just saw it, but I've never even heard of a Marine saluting a Pirate." She said, interested.

"That's something new to go down in history." Carla remarked. Luffy just laughed at all of this, enjoying the humor.

As the sails dropped, and they sailed off, Luffy shouted his farewells. "Bye Coby! We'll meet again!" Back on the port, Coby said goodbye quietly while Rika just continued to give big waves with her left hand.

"ALL HANDS, SALUUUTE!" Coby was shocked when he heard this and looked behind him to see every Marine at Shell Town Marine Base saluting them off formally. This truly was a first. Coby smiled. "You got some good friends there, kid." He looked up to see the Lieutenant smiling at him. Coby was about to cry, but he went back to salute again, trying to stay straightforward and courageous.

"Men!" The Lieutenant announced. "Since the salute we have performed goes against not only Marine law, but what we stand for in the name of justice, we will not have any food for three days! Do we all understand this?"

"Yes sir!" All of them responded, including Coby.

' _Even if we may stand by as Pirates and Marines, I still know in my heart that we will meet again!_ ' Coby thought happily. ' _I will forever look forward to that very day!_ '

* * *

 **SONG OF THE DAY**

 **Lele Troniq, Tangle & Mateusz - Sucker Punch (Johnny Yono Remix)**

* * *

 **13687! This is actually the longest chapter I've written for anything, and I'm glad it's for this! It may be more than I normally would have a chapter here, but I'm doing something like East Blue island arcs will be done in one chapter exceptions guaranteed being Baratie and Arlong Park. Syrup Village is still a maybe.**

 **Well then, I'm glad to hear the reviews so far, so let's answer now!**

DragonStar7Queen **\- Yeah, I look forward to it too. It's gonna be great!**

Michael Dorsey **\- You see, something like a quick explanation like Coby getting in the wrong boat or Zoro's arrest will be mostly put as dialogue. In any case, A story like the past of someone like Luffy (and Natsu in this) meeting Shanks and how Arlong Park came to be will obviously be shown. Also, about the setup for Warlords and Emperors sounds pretty good! Some will just be antagonists, but some will be there! If you don't want a spoiler, cover the next line up.**

* * *

 **I'm thinking about having the Oracion Seis as a Warlord Crew to deal with after Alabasta to replace Crocodile.**

* * *

 **So as usual, the three Fs are greatly appreciated. I really can't wait for this to get the serious turn started! And for those who just started, welcome! Try and tell your friends about this story who take a similar interest, they'll love it too!**

 **Thank you, come again!**


	3. A Dream

**Shit... Sorry for the two month... Been diverted to far and had assessment after assessment, and with me being lazy elsewise, I have no real excuse. This could have been ready an entire month ago, but I was lazy and mindless, and working on assessments. And I still am with half-years in a week.**

 **You've probably not noticed yet, but I'm doing song of the day, where I feature an awesome song I like, a lot of the time relating to the chapter at hand, and show it's title at the end of the chapter. Anyway...**

 **Oda Dramaticy: Alright, this is a big one. This is where everything turns a white shade in the background and particles are moving through the air, everyone slightly darkened like they're being covered like shadows, hence the name due to it being a Dramatic and Suspenseful environment. These are pretty common later on, so it'll be [OD] and [END OD] to make it short and sweet from anything past this chapter.**

 **Also, in my stories, pouting is having the mouth like it's being squished (lips at a side angled 3, if you will). That's all for that bit.**

 **Onward, peasants!**

* * *

Out in the middle of the ocean of the East Blue, seagulls and calm waves, was a small dingy, though larger than average, with a large sail. The dingy was about the size of half an average house in suburbia in comparison with a small room that could compare to about 3/10 of the boat. The sail was a large, black colour with a Jolly Roger on it that looked like a dead clown. There was also a lifesaver on a hook in the middle of the outside wall of the room.

On deck were three men. One wore an orange short shirt with purple collars on his neck, sleeves and bottom and maroon pants with a green sash and brown shoes, as well as a dark-grey beanie with a yellow fuzz top with the Jolly Roger on it.

The second man had had orange hair that went into the style of that of a class B clown (Pointed towards the edges whilst flat), wearing a purple and yellow striped shirt with a turquoise sash, grey pants and brown shoes.

The last man was a large, half-darker skinned man with an almost bald haircut and a small beard, like a flat goatee, as well as a monobrow. He wore a simple black vest-like over shirt with light grey pants and a pale green sash, along with brown shoes like his friends.

At the moment, they were looking through a treasure chest with gold and jewels filled to the brim, supposedly from a minor raid.

"That's two in a row!" The beanie man declared with a small smile. "Boys, we're on a streak today!"

"Yeah." The orange haired man replied. "This should keep Buggy under control for a bit."

The large man looked out, spotting something. "Hey guys," He spoke. "What's that out there?"

The other two turned and all three saw a small dingy, similar to theirs, except it didn't have a room, with a small cross-triangle sail. It was just floating there, doing nothing but gliding across the water.

They had now reached a verdict of the situation. "Let's go check it out." The beanie man stated simply.

On the boat was a small orange haired girl, just dangling over the railing like she was dead, or desperate more likely. She was wearing a white V-neck with three blue stripes in the middle, getting smaller from top to bottom, and two blue stripes across all collars and sleeve collars. She wore orange shorts with white figure 8s, one on each side, with a darker shade of orange inside, almost red, more so brown.

The boat the three men were on slowly moved to the side of her boat, both slightly moving up and down from the calm waves surrounding them almost infinitely.

As they pulled up beside the desperate-looking girl, they took a look at her. "Heh. It's a little lady…" The orange haired man stated with a grin.

"Alright kid, wake up." The beanie man stated, asking her to get up.

The girl looked up with a pleading face, despite the needing smile she wore. "I beg you, tell me this isn't a dream…" She pleaded, sounding tired. "I've been stuck out here for days…please, I really need water…" the three men were grinning, or smirking to say the least, at this show before them. The girl held her hand out to a treasure chest behind her, a mahogany-coloured wooden one. "Please, you can have as many valuables as you please…just help me…I beg you, my life depends on it…"

The three men were really grinning hard now. "Sure, we'll help ya out." The beanie man concluded. They then walked towards the girl's boat toward the treasure chest. "But first thing's first, let's see what ya got here." The three walked across to her boat, now at the chest. The beanie man was struggling to get it open, as it appeared to be locked. "Fuck, this is tight." He grumbled under his breath. He heard a click after a bit. "Oh, hold up, here we go." The chest opened, only for a panda on a spring to launch up, scaring the living hell out of the three men from the jumpscare.

Behind them, they heard a slightly feminine laugh. They turned to see the girl floating away on _their_ boat. "You know what, keep all of it! I got what I needed here!" She smiled, hand against the room's outer wall.

The three men were pissed. "Oi!" The beanie man called out in anger. "That's our boat! You tricked us!"

The girl continued to smile merrily. She looked off to her right, hand over her eyes to block off the sun's glare. "You see those clouds over there?" She asked. "That will probably lead to a Coldfront." The three looked above them to see some clouds rolling over them. "You'll soon find some heavy winds and some rainfall, as well as some harsh tides. Capsizing is likely in that small boat, by the way!"

That was the last thing that was said by anyone as long as that boat stood. It started to rain a bit, then harder, until it was pretty much an average rainstorm pace. The waves began to pick up around them, and the winds pushed them into a loss of balance. They could barely stand up in the harsh conditions.

After what seemed like hours, which was no longer than a mere 2 minutes, the boat began to sink on one side. "Bingo!" The girl declared once the ship was no longer seen. "See ya!" She called out. "Oh, and thanks for the treasure you left me. You really shouldn't have!"

The three men in the water were pissed at her. " **YOU BITCH! GET BACK HERE!** " Most of this was covered up by the gurgles of the water surrounding the three men and the panda, which the spring was somehow detached from the chest was now floating, the same gurgles that followed, desperate to stay afloat for air.

* * *

"Ugh…" Luffy groaned in agony. "Sooo hungry…"

"Agreed…" Natsu and Happy replied, just as tired.

Luffy turned over from his back being over the end of the boat to leaning over it face down, looking into the water. "When are going to reach land, anyway…"

Carla looked up from lying down. "Who's to say we _will_ reach land anyhow?" She groaned herself.

Zoro was baffled, and in any way but a good one. "Ironic." He stated in disappointment. "A guy who wants to be King of the Pirates and he can't even navigate, let alone the rest of his crew."

Luffy continued to look down into the ocean. "This is what we've been doing 'till now. Just sailing along the waves and letting the wind drift us by…" He then looked up to Zoro, now sitting upright. "What about you? Aren't you an infamous Bounty Hunter who took down any Pirate he saw?"

"I don't ever recall a Bounty Hunter being my occupation." Zoro replied bluntly. He looked up. "I went searching for a single man in order to accomplish my dream, but I couldn't find him. What's more, I couldn't find my way home again, so I had to hunt down and turn in Pirates for a living."

Luffy looked like he had an epiphany. "Oh, I see." He said, slightly sympathetic. "You're lost."

Oda Anger was written all over Zoro. "FUCK OFF!" He roared. " _You_ are the lost ones here!"

He then had his face normal again, arm still resting on the bow of the dingy. "I still can't believe that you guys are a Pirate Crew and even some that are accompanying them, all added up, have zero navigation. Goddammit, you guys really need to get a Navigator for this crew." Zoro stated. He was actually right. For the Grand Line, as well as the ocean in particular, a Navigator is a given.

"And a Chef!" Natsu and Happy added.

"And a Musician!" Luffy and Wendy continued. It appeared Wendy liked music as much as Luffy did.

Aaaaaand, back to Oda Anger. " **What the hell are you all going off on?!** " Zoro demanded in fury.

However, as he demanded this, he pushed the boat down, causing it to rock. This rocking caused Luffy's signature Straw Hat to fly off and drift by the wind, up the sail, and almost into the water.

"Not my Shanks hat!" Luffy called out in fear.

Fortunately, as they reached out to grab it, Zoro managed to catch the hat, which caused Luffy to have a memory, a red-haired man catching the hat, same time that Zoro did, and bringing it up to his head. The man looked at Luffy and smiled.

Luffy just sat there, not moving for an entire five minutes, remembering it all like it was yesterday. An entire decade, it was.

"Oi Luffy, you want the hat back or not?" Zoro's call snapped Luffy out of what he was thinking.

"Hm?" He looked at Zoro, who was offering him the hat. "Oh, thanks." He thanked as he put the Straw Hat back on his head. He then looked up with a straight face, appearing to be deep in thought.

After about ten seconds, Natsu nudged the Straw-Hat, grabbing his attention. "Thinkin' about _that_ aren't ya?" He asked, though it was more likely he stated.

Luffy nodded in confirmation. "Yeah." He said calmly with a smile, taking the hat off again and holding it in is hands.

"Hey Luffy." Luffy turned to see Wendy. "I have a question. The hat seems more important to you than anything in the world. What does it resemble?" She asked politely.

Luffy looked at her for a few seconds, then looked back down at the hat. After about five seconds, he smiled. He then looked back up at Wendy with the smile. "I made a promise, a long time ago." He then looked back down to the hat. "It's already been ten years since that day…" He said, mostly to himself.

Natsu smiled himself. "And so, the story is recited once more!" He cheered.

The other three recent travelers were baffled that Luffy had made such an important promise an entire decade ago, and the main symbol was his straw hat. It truly was surprising to anyone who first questioned. After all, what looked like an every day straw hat, this was his treasure.

"Ten years?!" Wendy asked, shocked both in her voice and her appearance. Carla was wearing a slightly similar shocked expression. She was just as amazed.

Though it wasn't as strong a shock by far, Zoro was definitely impressed. "Damn." He muttered in awe with a smirk.

Luffy then smiled at them. "Want to hear the story?" He asked, slightly eager himself to tell it.

Wendy clasped her hands and nodded eagerly. "Yes, please!" She replied politely with a smile.

Carla, who was for some reason sitting on Zoro's head, smiled. "This should be entertaining." She said to herself.

Zoro nodded from under her. Carla looked down to him. "Why am I sitting on your head?" She asked with a frown in slight disgust.

The Santoryu user simply shrugged. "How the hell should I know?" He shot back, looking up at her. "I didn't put you there."

Luffy grinned widely, amped to tell the tale. "Alright everyone, listen up!" He declared. "This is the tale of Shanks and the Straw Hat." He looked down at the hat with the same smile. "It all started ten years ago…"

* * *

…In the town of Fushia Village, located on Dawn Island. This was a quiet place, not many people, and rather calm and friendly. The name of the Village originates from one of their most familiar trademarks; their windmills. There were quite a few of them in this area.

The town was about 2/3 the size of an everyday suburbia in comparison. It had a few houses and a couple hotels, as well as a couple bars. One of them, though, outshone in popularity all the others; Party's Bar. The place was always thrilling with excitement, per there are more than three people in there at a time, and had some of the best alcohol in Dawn Island, namely Sake.

On the port of the island, since it's on the coast, there were the docks, which held house to a few small dinghies. What really stood out though was the giant ship in the middle. It was a large ship; no arguing that it was a Pirate Ship, an average one with three masts and a sturdy build.

On the wooden dragon-headed mast was a young Monkey D. Luffy. He was wearing a white shirt with an anchor on it with the word "Anchor" In the middle of it, blue jean shorts that reached his kneecaps, and his trademark sandals. At the moment, though, something was strange. He had a wide mouth, but it was equal edged and hat huge gritting teeth, seemingly very pissed. He also, for some reason, had a small pocket blade in his left hand.

"Oi, Luffy!" One of the pirates called out on the ship. "What are you doing now?"

Luffy was still wearing the same angry expression. "I'm not kidding now!" He demanded. "I'll prove it this time! YOU'LL SEE!"

One of the pirates on the ship with red hair and a hat cheered him on. "Go for it, Luffy!" He encouraged. "Come on, show us what you got!"

Luffy then held the blade to his face. He looked at it slightly scared. After a bit, he pushed it against his cheek. After about ten seconds, he went all the fucking way…

He pulled the blade back again and stabbed himself deep into his left cheek with the small dagger, spurting a slightly dangerous amount of blood, seeing as he put an entire fifth of a blade into his fragile 7 year-old face.

"WHHAAAAA…?!" The pirates aboard the ship were shocked that, apparently this time, Luffy had gone that far.

The man with red hair looked at Luffy with an Oda Shock like most of the Crew around him. He then looked at him with angry eyes, though his mouth was just as wide as before.

"HEY!" He demanded. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Luffy still continued to scream in pain, but that didn't stop him from keeping the knife in for quite some time. This was how he got his cheek scar.

In the bar mentioned earlier, Party's Bar, the Pirate crew, known as the Red-Hair Pirates, were partying and celebrating for two main reasons: Luffy's craziness, and their greatness/achievements. They had sake going all around the small bar, with meat being shoved down in satisfaction and happiness. Everyone was smiling. _Everyone_.

Even the self-cheek-stabbed Luffy, with his eyes watering from the "pain" he felt from that, yet _tried_ to keep a straight smiling face. "That…" he barely croaked. "didn't hurt at all…"

The man with red hair glared at Luffy intensely with shark teeth. The only reason you couldn't call it an Oda Anger was that he still had his pupils and iris' in place.

" **LIAR!** " He roared. "DON'T DO SOMETHING SO STUPID AGAIN!"

Luffy immediately wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled even wider than he already was. "Don't worry, I'm fine!" He exclaimed. "I'm not afraid of pain! Please, take me to sea with you! I WANT TO BECOME A PIRATE TOO!"

The red haired man smirked. At a full view, he was an average heighted man with bright scarlet red hair, thus giving him his alias. Across his left eye were three scar lines. He wore a white button-up shirt that was unbuttoned at the top half, a red sash around his waist that the shirt was tucked into, slightly loose brown trousers, and black large sandals with a sabre to the right of his shirt in a small sheath. He also wore a golden straw hat with a red ribbon. Sound familiar?

This man was **Red Hair** Shanks, captain of the Red Hair Pirates.

"You don't have what it takes to become a pirate, Luffy!" Shanks told the young boy with a smile. "You can't even swim! How can you become a free sailor of the world when you have one's greatest weakness?"

Luffy snapped towards the man. "It doesn't matter wether I can swim or not!" He scowled. This caused shanks to frown, though only his mouth had the reaction. "All I have to do is stay on board and I'll be fine!"

Luffy then aimed to the side of himself with a smirk. "Besides, I've trained really hard over time!" He punched the air in front of him. "My punch is as strong as a pistol shot!" You could actually see a pistol being fired behind him with his words if you put enough imagination to it.

Shanks was the exact opposite. In fact, he looked disappointed and bored. "Wow..." He groaned sarcastically. "Pistols he says…"

Luffy had an Oda Anger just for this very moment. "WHY THE TONE AND FACE?!" He screamed in anger.

About ten of the other Red Hair Pirates came towards the childish duo, two of them some of the core members of the crew.

One of them was a slightly skinny man with a _slightly_ dark skin. He had black hair put into tight curls, yet formed into loose waves separate from one another, and wore a dark blue/turquoise button-up shirt, top third unbuttoned, like his captain, and dark green pants, almost considered black from how dark the shade was. He also wore a blue headband with his name written in white. This man's name was Yassop.

The other was a rather large man, almost perfectly spherical in the body. He wore a large grin that was usually like Luffy's when the latter was happy. He wore white/yellow goggles over his eyes, a red and white striped shirt with a bandana the same colour, and white shorts with a red sash. This man was known as Lucky Roo.

Five of these pirates gave Luffy words of encouragement for adventure.

"Luffy!" A bald pirate with many stitches called out from the right side (Luffy's P.O.V). "You seem unhappy! Cheer up!"

"Let the sea take you anywhere, and be glad to face what lies ahead!" Yassop declared, slinging over the other's shoulders, like every other pirate coming towards Luffy and Shanks.

"Yeah!" Lucky Roo added and confirmed. "A pirate's life is great! Better than anything you can imagine!"

"The sea is wide and deep, filled with adventure!" Another pirate called out, whom had his hair stuck up in a loop like a half-samurai and a sword in his right hand. "Seek out any island! Seek out any challenge! Face it with a smile!"

Another pirate came by to the left side, still in Luffy's view, and still smiled to the lad even though the pirate who literally _just_ spoke last kicked him in the left side of his face. "Freedom lies on the oceans ahead! No such thing is a greater treasure, Luffy!"

Luffy smiled at their words of encouragement and excitement wide and high. He was getting more and more anticipated for some day going out to the ocean just like his role model and his crew.

Shanks turned to his crew with a frown and a spoon in the middle of his teeth. "Come on guys, no need to rile him up with stupid ideas…" He sighed in disappointment, knowing Luffy was obviously going to take the words to heart and want to go out to sea even more than he did before.

Yassop and Roo looked at each other with smug agreeing looks. "But it's the truth, riiiigghht?" They asked in half-mockery, concluding this was for the best, and in their defence, it was the truth. The sea was indeed a vast place.

"RIGHT!" Every nameless pirate there agreed.

A pirate with a spade (poker suit) tattoo on his left eyebrow looked behind himself towards the captain. "Oi, captain!" He called out. "Why don't we take him on a small trip once? It won't be that big of a deal." A few other pirates agreed to this idea, seeing as even if it was a small run, Luffy should be fine and would love it.

"Yeah!" Luffy was psyched to see that over half of the crew was agreeing to bring him with them. There were _very_ few things that could prevent him coming now!

Unfortunately for the 7 year-old, what Shanks said next was one of them. "Alright then, just let him take your place and you should be just fine."

This caused the pirates to skip shoulder-to-shoulder and smile and cheer towards the tables once again the same way they approached Luffy.

"Enough said!" Roo declared. "Let's drink!"

Luffy was _pissed_ at them for just abandoning him like that. "What kind of friends are you guys?!" He roared with the same angry expression he had through every other turndown and insult thrown at him.

"Most importantly, you're too young." Shanks pointed out to Luffy, pointing at the latter with the spoon he was using. "Come back in ten years and I might let you join then!"

"I'm not a kid anymore, Shanks!" Luffy argued back with a slight tantrum. "I'M A GROWN UP, NOT A _KID_!"

"Calm down, Luffy." Shanks said calmly with a smile. He then handed Luffy a glass. "Have some juice and calm down."

Luffy quickly grabbed it and started drinking it. "Okay! Thanks!" He said with a childlike smile.

Shanks turned to the left side of him, completely and utterly failing to hold back the tears and laughter of what he saw before him. He went _crazy_ at the sight before him.

"Congratulations, kid!" Shanks could barely speak from how much he was laughing. "You're the first 'Pirate' to drink _juice_!"

Luffy snapped toward the captain with a huge open mouth that covered an entire half of his face with narrowed eyes. He had never been so angry with the captain fro his antics in his life, let alone anything to that day.

" **CHEAP SHOT**!" The lad hollered in fury and accusation.

The kid had had enough. He got off the barstool he was on with his juice and walked off. He heaved out a large amount of annoyed air. "Damn, Shanks…" He muttered in anger. "I cut myself and got a scar, and he _still_ won't let me come along…"

"Luffy…" Said boy looked up to see Shank's First Mate, Ben Beckman. The man was a rather tall one, about a foot above Shanks. He had jet-black hair pulled back into a ponytail, with a slightly curly bit hanging from the left side, a three-quarter black short-sleeved shirt with a yellow sash around his waist that hoisted an extremely large rifle, and loose dark green pants that tucked into his black boots with golden-coloured front air soles.

Benn Beckman, as usual, had a long cigarette in his mouth, in which he had one about 99.86% of the time you were to see him, currently lighting this one. "You should try to understand the Captain's feelings and his reasons for his decision." He reasoned, continuing.

"Understand his feelings?" Luffy asked, slightly confused.

"Indeed…" Ben Beckman confirmed. "He is our leader after all. You see, he may know that a pirate's life is interesting and full of adventures beyond thought, but he also knows that it is a very dangerous one." Luffy looked on with a confused, yet slightly understanding look. Half lost would be a good conclusion.

"Do you understand, Luffy?" The first mate asked with a slightly raised right eyebrow. "Shanks does not try to insult you on purpose, nor does he try to tease your piracy ambitions directly."

Luffy looked on in slight frustration. "How can I believe or understand that when Shanks keeps taking me for no less than a fool?!"

Said future-Emperor looked back at Luffy with his right hand over his mouth while resting his elbow on his leg, trying to cover his amused smile and laughter. "Can't swim!" He snorted between hard-to-keep-in snickers.

"YOU SEE!?" Luffy shouted, pointing at the **Red Hair** in accusation. Even Beckman had to conclude; he had just ben ¾ corrected. The sweatdrop on the back of his head was more than enough proof.

"Captain." A sweet, cheery voice called. It belonged to a young woman, coming in with a barrel of sake, holding the ropes around it. "I assume you're rather happy by the looks of things!" She assumed, smiling.

"Yep!" Shanks confirmed, though no longer laughing, in the same level of a happy mood. "Making fun of Luffy; no better joy exists!"

Luffy looked back at the first mate, pointing to Shanks with his index finger. "I rest my case." He muttered with a frown.

The young woman simply giggled at the scene before her. She was an average heighted woman for someone in their early twenties, with brown eyes and black hair. She wore an orange blouse with black sleeves, a long light blue skirt and orange sneakers with white soles. She also wore a yellow and orange kerchief on her head. This was the bar owner of Party's Bar, Makino.

She looked over to Luffy with a kind smile. "Luffy, would you like to eat something?"

It didn't really take that long for Luffy to quickly perk up. "Yeah! I'll pay for it with my treasure!" He shouted enthusiastically.

Shanks looked over to Luffy with a half cocky grin. "Luffy…" He said. "You aren't lying again, are you?"

Luffy snapped back to Shanks. "No!" He defended. "I'm going to find treasure when I become a Pirate and pay her back with it!"

Makino laughed at the childish, yet set mind before her. She went to prepare some food. "Alright." She smiled. "I'll be waiting!" Luffy smiled himself, cutlery in hand; one of the few times he'll do so. Even though Makino would gladly give him food anyway, she still loved to hear the boy's heart speak to her.

After they got their food, not much was said except for the cheering and partying behind them from the rest of the crew.

Luffy decided to cut the silence with an important question; "Shanks?"

"Hm?"

"How much longer are you gonna stay here?"

Shanks quickly swallowed his mouthful while Luffy finally snapped off a chunk of his meat. "Well, we've used Fushia Village as our base for about a year, so we're planning to go a couple more times and then fully head north."

Luffy frowned at these last words whilst still chewing. "A couple more times…" He muttered gloomily.

Makino sighed with a smile. The two were idiots in a way, but were closer to one another than anyone else here.

"By then, I'll be able to swim!" Luffy cheered. He always had a positive point in something, didn't he?"

"Alright!" Shanks encouraged. "Best of luck!"

Luffy smiled, glad Shanks still supported him even through the playful antagonising. That was when his stomach decided to fit as the negative.

"Still hungry…" The anchor groaned, hand on his gut. He looked left, where Shanks was chatting with some of his crewmates, and in front where Makino was making some more booze for everyone.

Though when he looked to his right, he spotted a small chest with some sort of round fruit inside. "Hm?"

That was when one of the saloon-like flap doors was kicked off the hinges, landing directly at Shanks' feet. Someone, with lots of people behind them, put his hand on the door arch, pushing it by as, what was now defined as a he, walked in.

"Excuse me!" he called out. After the huge bang, he already had the attention of everyone inside. He snickered, as did the guys behind him, who had on long white shirts, black pants, and beige bandanas wrapped around their heads, as well as matching sashes and their own sword each. "So this is what pirates look like, eh?" He muttered. "Look pretty pathetic if you ask me."

Everyone was staring at him in slight confusion; Lucky Roo, who was still smiling as usual with a shank of meat in his mouth, Benn Beckman, Makino, who was slightly scared, Shanks, who didn't pay much mind at the moment, and Luffy, who was eating something.

The man put a hand on the bench of the bar, intimidating Makino even more, as well as getting Shanks' attention, who was opening another sake bottle.

The man was a skinny, yet tall one, about as tall as Beckman. He had black hair that parted at the front, like Makino, that was pulled up a bit at the back. He wore a white shirt and black trousers, like his colleagues, but also had on a red coat with yellow circles, a golden circle necklace, and a large sheathed sword on his right, like Shanks. He also had a cross-shaped scar above his right eyebrow. This was the Mountain Bandit, Higuma.

"We're bandits." Uh… I just said that… "Don't worry, we're not looking for blood. But we are looking for a better substitute: Sake. 10 Barrels, thanks."

Makino looked intimidated like she saw Satan himself. However, she still kept her sweet smile. "I'm sorry…" She apologized. "But we're out of sake."

Higuma frowned, looking behind him to the pirates behind him. "Odd…" He muttered. "Mind telling me what they're drinking then? Water?" He asked in slight mock confusion.

"Unfortunately, that's the last of the sake." Makino replied, not really in her bright mood anymore for being unable to satisfy a customer.

Shanks looked up to Higuma with a smile. "Oh. Sorry about that." He apologized himself. "Looks like we drank all the sake here, huh?" He then held up the bottle he just opened, still full. "Here, you can have the last one if you want-"

That was when Higuma had had enough and slammed the bottle with enough force to almost entirely decimate it, splattering all of it over Shanks. Makino was shocked and intimidated to the fullest with wide eyes, the rest of the bandits smirked and a couple snickered, the rest of the Red Hairs continued to look on the same way they had when they walked in, and Luffy was halfway between, mouth wide open after eating half of a weird fruit.

"Who the hell do you think I am?" Higuma asked, pissed. "You should know that a single _bottle_ won't do for all my men, so don't try something so stupid!"

Shanks frowned, sighing. "That's just great…" He muttered in sorrow. "The floor's wet…"

Higuma pulled out a flyer. "See this?" Below an image of him, it had his name on it with the symbol for beris, which is a Latin "esh" over a capital B. It had the number 8,000,000, therefore reading the poster:

 _Wanted_

 _Dead or Alive_

 _Higuma_

 _(Beri) 8.000.000_

It was a Wanted Poster.

"My head is worth 8.000.000 Beri. I'm one of the East Blue's prime fugitives. If you want to be a cocky little bastard, then you can join the other 56 people I've killed."

He then looked directly at Shanks' eyes. "Good, you now know who I am. Don't act so high and mighty around me again! You should know well that bandits and pirates don't mix."

Shanks proceeded to pick up the base of what was the bottle, one of the last bits of the bottle still visible. "Hey Makino," He called out from below. Said bartender snapped her attention to him, still at the other end of the bench. "You got a mop?"

"Uh…" She stuttered. "I-It's okay. "I-I'll clean it up."

Higuma had no time for this. He grabbed the hilt of his sword, brought it out, and sliced yet another bottle, scaring Makino and making her scream in fear, and soaking Shanks even more.

"Looks like you enjoy cleaning." The bandit spat. "Thought I'd do you a favour."

He, along with the rest of the bandits, walked out of the bar. "Later, you bunch of chickens." Higuma snickered. They continued to walk out of the town until they were on the outskirts. "A pathetic town this one." Higuma muttered. "They don't even have any booze! Come on, off to the next town!"

As soon as the bandits left, Makino immediately rushed to the **Red Hair** 's aid. "Captain, are you okay?" She asked with a concerned voice, holding out a small rag to clean him. "Did you get hurt?"

Shanks simply raised his hand in politely passing it up. "No, I'm good, Makino. Thanks though."

After about five seconds of silence, the captain huffed out a "Phew!" with a smile, and then an attempt to hold in laughter. Soon, the entire crew was laughing at the little incident that just happened.

"That guy got you really good, huh?" A random crewmate with blonde hair heaved.

"You looked so silly, Captain!" Lucky Roo commented, giving his own heartful laugh.

It didn't take too long as Shanks laughed as well, taking off his hat, while Makino cleaned his shirt up anyway.

A certain boy had watched this entire scene unfold before him, and he was _pissed_. "WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING!" The shout got Luffy the attention of the whole bar. "THAT WAS THE MOST DISGRACEFUL THING I'VE EVER SEEN! WHY DID YOU JUST SIT THERE?! WHY DIDN'T YOU FIGHT BACK!? IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY PEOPLE THEY HAVE, YOU CAN'T LET YOURSELF GET PICKED ON LIKE THAT! **YOU AREN'T A MAN! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE CALLED A PIRATE!** "

Shanks simply looked at Luffy blankly for a moment before putting his hat back on. "Luffy, look, I understand your feelings," He sympathised. "But it's only some sake. It doesn't matter. Nothing to get worked up about."

Luffy then began to walk off, still angry at Shanks. The latter grabbed his arm. "Come on, Luffy, don't leave…" Shanks half-pleaded, eyes softened.

Luffy huffed and continued to walk. "Don't talk to me again, coward!" He growled. It was then that something happened that would change Luffy's life, as well as everyone's around him, and cause things impossible to be done, to define Luffy as who he was and something that would change the world as we know it.

It stretched.

As Luffy continued to walk away from Shanks, who still held onto his arm, it continued to stretch. This caused eyes to stretch forward, Oda Shocks to slack, and spit-takes rose high. "WHA-?!" That was the sound almost every pirate in there made as this happened.

Shanks' face immediately came between fear and a cringe. "No way…" He muttered in fear. "His arm is stretching! That's…"

"No way…" A couple crewmates muttered the same. "You…"

Luffy screamed in fear of his now extendable joints. "WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" He hollered with a disoriented Oda Shock.

"IT'S GONE!" Everyone turned to Lucky Roo with their faces squished tight and afraid.

"WHAT?!" They shouted back. They had put two and two together and this was the only explanation.

"The fruit we took from the enemy isn't here!" Lucky Roo continued. Apparently, it was in the chest he was searching through in his huge hands.

He quickly sketched something and showed it to Luffy. Even though he was smiling, as he always does no matter what, the sweat on his exposed round belly and face was more than enough proof he was just as scared as everyone else.

He then pointed to the sketch. "Luffy, did you eat this?!" Luffy looked hard at the drawing. It was, as Luffy would dub it, a Mystery Fruit. It was a round shaped fruit that made it look a lot like a Yubari King. It was a purple colour and, if Luffy remembered correctly, a pale yellow inside, with a two-way stem with one going slightly down and then slightly up, and the other slightly down and then slightly up before shaping a full-cycle swirl, like a mosquito coil.

Luffy immediately recognised the fruit. It was that horrible fruit from earlier. "…Yeah…wasn't that dessert?" He asked, sweating behind his head himself. "Tastes like crap though…"

Shanks immediately grabbed Luffy's head in fear of what he had just done. The area around them had grown dark, and an Oda Dramaticy had formed. "Luffy, that was the Gum-Gum Fruit!" He bellowed, even at the point of their foreheads in contact. "It's known as a Devil Fruit, the creations of the Sea Devil and one of the rarest treasures in the sea!" He was sweating up himself as much as anyone now, if not more. Luffy had also begun to open his mouth in fear and realisation. "Eating the Gum-Gum Fruit turns your entire body to rubber! EATING ANY DEVIL FRUIT WILL REMOVE YOUR ABILITY TO SWIM FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!"

Luffy had evidently got the drastic message as his mouth and jaw were dripping like a thick mustard, along with his eyes bulging in shock. The ultimate Oda Shock.

"WWWWHHHHHAAAAAAAAAATT?!" The boy asked with fear of not being able to swim. That part hit him flat down like a truck. "You're kidding, RRIIIIIGGGHHHTT?!"

Shanks could not believe what had happened. Luffy had accidentally eaten a Devil Fruit and had just now realised the consequences. He let out three simple words in a bellow that shook through the entire town and depicted Luffy at this point onward that would eventually be 10% of the things people say to him. His mouth was even as far down as Luffy's and had his hands in a begging-like pose with shark teeth.

"YOU! DAMN! _**IIIIIIDDDDDDIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOTTT!**_ "

* * *

A few days later, everything had seemed to calm down. Other than the fact that Luffy was now rubber and couldn't swim, nothing had really changed much.

At the moment, said rubber man (Or boy at the moment) was walking down the middle of the valley with cows and a couple windmills. After a brief walk and a couple moos from the huge milk producers, Luffy had reached the centre of town. Wearing a white shirt with a blue collar and blue sleeves, along with brown shorts, he approached the fish shop, which had a fish above with the letters O and U on the fish.

Luffy walked up to the glass display counter, giving his signature giant smile while chuckling, the former now much easier to make due to his elastic properties.

"I'd like some fish, Mr. store keeper!" He asked, smiling all the way.

The storekeeper, Gyoru, who had on a yellow shirt with a black apron, the traditional butcher/fisherman uniform, smiled at Luffy. "Looks like someone's in a good mood today, huh?" He asked. "The pirates leave you again? Either way, you realise you can no longer swim, right?"

Luffy's grin never faltered. "It's fine!" He answered simply. "I'll just be a Pirate who doesn't fall into the sea!" He then stretched out his face as far as he could with his arms. "Besides, the Gum-Gum Fruit has made me even happier! Check it out!"

"And that's good _how_?!" Everyone nearby turned to see the Chief, or Mayor of Fushia Village, Woop Slap. He had a small moustache line that thinly went across his face, as well as a finely trimmed stubble. Along with his yellow glasses, he wore a yellow button-up shirt, pants that reached the ankles that had a white and red stripe pattern, and a hat with the exact same pattern as his pants that looked the shape of a lampshade.

You see, Woop Slap wasn't too fond of having a Devil Fruit User as a resident, but still slimly tolerated it. What he did not allow at any costs was Luffy's choice of dream.

"Maybe everyone else loves the fact that you're made of rubber, but tell me, what purpose could it have?!" He then looked at Luffy angrily; smoke puffing a little from him. "I will tell you again, Luffy; don't become a Pirate! Shanks may look cool and all, but his ideals are infectious! Stay away from him as much as possible! Our town's reputation would be tarnished if you become a criminal!"

Luffy did nothing more than give a pout and turn away with his tongue out and his index fingers in his ears.

"They've been gone for a while. Don't you feel lonely, Luffy?"

It had been about an hour since Luffy went to get some fish from Gyoru, and the former decided to go to Party's Bar. With him was Makino, serving. Currently, it was just them, with Makino asking Luffy said question as Luffy finished drinking a glass of juice and was leaning on the bench while sitting down, playing with the cup a little with his jaw as it lay flat down like a small log with four ice cubes still in it. Makino was wearing the same skirt, but a black shirt and a fully yellow kerchief.

"Nope!" He declared, still slightly angry. "I haven't forgiven them for their cowering from the bandits!" He sighed, biting a little on the cup. "I overestimated him. I thought Shanks was awesome. It's really disappointing…" He pouted.

"Really?" The bar owner asked softly, continuing to dry and clean a wine glass. "I thought that people that can take all that in and laugh it off are pretty brave."

Luffy sighed as he pulled the glass and he rested his chin between his arms, crossed on the bench. "You don't understand, Makino." He sighed. "Sometimes, a man needs to fight back for what he believes is right!"

"Oh?" Makino giggled a bit. "I guess I have no clear idea then, huh?" She asked.

Luffy nodded. "Yeah."

There was then the sound of a light creak as the door flaps opened. "Excuse me." Makino turned to the door, wondering whom it was.

Luffy recognised the damn face all to well. He gaped a bit with a small open mouth.

"Well, looks like the pirates aren't around?" Higuma smirked. "Good to know. The place is actually quieter now."

In a few mere seconds, every bandit was sitting down, shocking Makino.

"Well, don't just stand there, woman! We're customers today!" The bandit leader demanded as he lazed over the back of the chair. "BRING US SOME SAKE!"

* * *

Footsteps could be heard, getting louder and louder. These were identified as running. It seemed rather desperate.

Makino quickly opened the door to Woop Slap's office. The old man was wearing the same things as a few days ago.

"Chief! Come quick!"

He turned to see a panicking Makino, slightly confused. "What's wrong, Makino? What's this fuss about?"

Makino's face hadn't left it's panicked state yet. "Luffy…He was kidnapped by the bandits!"

* * *

Outside, the bandits had surrounded Luffy, just finding out about and intrigued by his new abilities. Higuma was holding the Devil Fruit User off the ground, the latter struggling and trying to kick his way out of the former's grab.

"Hm…an interesting body indeed…" The bandit leader spoke in malicious awe. "Yep, seems like punches and kicks won't hurt him, or any blunt attack at all."

Inside, the villagers were panicking that Luffy had been taken away. Most wanted someone to go save him, but an equal amount suggested they would be killed; a fraction of said people claiming it was Luffy's fault to begin with for messing with them.

"DAMN IT!" Luffy shouted to the bandit. "APOLOGISE RIGHT NOW!" He attempted to punch Higuma, but the bandit just swayed his head to the left with ease.

"A rubber man, huh?" Higuma questioned. "Who would have thought this would exist in this world?...Too bad it makes you WEAKER!" He then proceeded to fling Luffy from where he had grabbed his mouth and made the boy fly into the ground and roll.

Luffy grabbed his head from the impact. He could take most blunt attacks, but he had yet to be capable of handling landing impact. "Damn it!" He cursed in rage. "You will PAY!"

Higuma smirked and put a hand to his chin. "I wonder if there's a circus around here?" He said to himself, partially to his subordinates. "If there is, they would pay _big_ to have this kid…"

Luffy had already got back up and was charging toward Higuma with a large branch, releasing a battle cry as he ran.

Higuma rose his foot. "You are quite a strong…" He then brought it down. "BRAT!"

Luffy was too shocked to dodge as the bandit had slammed his foot down, with Luffy between it and the ground, being crushed. If he weren't made of rubber now, he would have a concussion at the least by now. He was still in pain.

Higuma smirked again. "You know, we weren't doing anything wrong, kid; just drinking and talking." He stated. "I have to ask, did we say something that pissed off your little head?-"

"EXACTLY!" Luffy roared from underneath. "NOW APOLOGIZE, DAMNIT! AND MOVE YOUR DAMN FOOT!"

Whilst the villagers were commenting on Luffy's hotheaded demeanour, a voice had called out from the side in plea.

"Let him go! Please!" Everyone turned to see Woop Slap with a sad Makino, slightly shocking the bandits. The Chief bowed down to them. "I have no clue what the child did, nor why all this has happened, and I don't wish to argue, but even if it means paying, I'm begging you to let Luffy go!"

Luffy was just as shocked. "Chief!" He called out in surprise.

Higuma just had a stoic glance at the moment. "As expected, the elders are always the ones to _properly_ solve the situation and know what ways to help…" He then stroked his small beard, face slightly darkening. "But it won't do any good! The brat has no hopes of escape or bail, because he angers me!" he then repeatedly stomped on Luffy. I will not tolerate a little _brat_ insulting me!"

Luffy looked up at him from under the boot. " _YOU_ are the one at fault here, damn baboon!"

Higuma had concluded it here; Luffy had crossed the line. "Alright, fine." He proceeded to unsheathe his sword. "No circus for you. It's death instead!"

Neither of them liked this. "LUFFY!" Makino shouted in fear.

They then felt a presence behind them. "I was trying to find out how come nobody was at the docks…now I can see why…" They turned to see Shanks, a small smile on his face. He, along with his crew had returned. He looked directly at Luffy and the bandits. "Hey. It's you guys from yesterday."

The two townsfolk were slightly shocked from the **Red Hair** 's sudden appearance. "Captain!" Makino cried in shock and relief.

Shanks turned to Luffy, the former still smiling. "Hey, Luffy." He called out. "Didn't you say you had the punching power of a pistol?"

Luffy was in no way in the mood for this. "Shut up…" He muttered angrily through gritted teeth.

Higuma turned to Shanks with a scowl, giving a 'Hmph'. "You again…" He muttered in boredom. "Let me guess, cleaning the entire village now?

"I highly suggest you should leave now, coward. You don't want something _bad_ to happen, do you?"

That was when Shanks heard a gun click to the right side of his head, ready to fire. There was a bandit with a crooked nose pointing down with his pistol at point blank range, ready at any call.

"I'll blow your head off if need be, but that lays upon your next move, my friend." The bandit smirked. The rest of the bandits, turban-like bandanas shadowing their eyes, chuckled evilly at the cornering before them. Higuma snickered, glad that his subordinates perfectly knew well the system. There were three ways this could go; 1. Shanks surrenders and gets dragged away by the bandits with Luffy. 2. Shanks walks further and gets shot down, all hope for Luffy lost and causing the rest of the pirates and villagers to surrender.

3\. This…

"Would you risk your life?"

The bandit looked at Shanks, confused by his words. "Eh?"

Shanks continued to smile, eyes shadowed by his hat. "Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing to use it?" He muttered coolly with seriousness.

This still confused the bandit. He didn't really get what kind of message Shanks was trying to send. "The hell are you talking about?"

Shanks' eyes became unshadowed, still smiling. He looked at the bandit, pointing at the pistol at his head. "I'm saying guns aren't for threats, they're for action."

*click* _BANG!_

A gun was fired. Blood spurred out of the skull as the body became nothing more than a hollow corpse, dropping what was in its grasp.

As Lucky Roo held his just fired pistol in one hand, ripping off a piece of the meat he was holding in his other, the bandit fell to the ground, lifeless as his blood made a small pool on the dirt.

This sudden action shocked Makino, Woop Slap, and most of all, Luffy. The boy had seen someone be killed right before his eyes.

The rest of the bandits were furious. "YOU'RE DEAD, BASTARD!" One off them roared.

Another was right by his side. "That was dirty!"

The pirates were now confused. "Dirty?" Yassop asked.

"Don't make us laugh…" Beckman muttered. "We never said we were saints, did we?"

Shanks smirked from under his hat. "Gentlemen, the people ahead of you here are a group of _Pirates_."

The bandits looked like they couldn't care less. "Shut up!" One shouted, though he sounded slightly uneasy. "We're just taking the boy! It ain't your business!"

Shanks' voice quickly darkened. "Listen well, bandits," He began. "You can pour drinks on me, you can throw food at me, hell I'll even laugh off you spitting at me…however…" He looked up with his left eye that had three scars; with a look that would make Satan himself shit his pants. "If you hurt a friend of mine, you will pay for it dearly, regardless of your reason! YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN!"

Luffy felt himself tear up slightly. "Shanks…" he muttered in awe.

Higuma bursted out laughing at the sight before him. "'Won't forgive' he says!" He hollered. He pointed at them with a cocky grin. "You scurvy disgraces, who sit on a ship all day, want to challenge us?!" He asked, shocked, yet still smirking at the stupid thought. "WE WILL DESTROY YOU!"

Letting out a battle cry, all of the bandits charged forward, most loosely swinging their swords to prepare before reaching them. "Go to hell!" One of them roared.

Beckman stepped forward, rifle in hand. "I'll take care of this myself. I'm more than enough anyway." He suggested. Shanks stepped out of the way as Beckman calmly walked toward the charging bandits.

He grabbed the cigarette from his mouth just as calmly as a bandit charged forward. As the latter swung down his sword, Beckman swiftly moved to the left, avoiding it completely before extinguishing the still active -so to speak- smoke in the middle of the bandit's nose, directly in between his eyes.

After a few seconds, the bandit immediately fell down, holding his forehead and screeching in pain. "HOOOT!" He cried. As the rest of the bandits came charging towards Beckman, letting out a battle cry once again, the first mate grabbed the front of his rifle, smirking, and began to beat down every bandit. You could hear the brutality from anywhere on Dawn Island.

It didn't take long before Higuma, who hadn't even charged, was the last one left, looking on in shock. Beckman already had another cigarette in his mouth and was currently lighting it with his right hand.

"Don't underestimate us, bandit, or overestimate yourself." He said calmly, his left hand aiming his rifle at Higuma with a finger on the trigger. "If you really wanted to fight us so badly, you should have gone as far as brought a Marine fleet with you."

Luffy, Makino, and even Woop Slap were looking on in awe at what just happened. "Amazing…" Makino muttered in shock and amazement.

Higuma had an intimidated and shocked look on his face. "…Hold up!" He cried in defence. "The brat messed with us first!"

Shanks had the same look from earlier; not a lone shit given. "That doesn't matter." He said. "You have a bounty, remember?"

Higuma started to sweat quite profusely, trapped with hardly any way to escape. He had lost. But if that were the case, he wouldn't go down alone!

He threw down something before a huge cloud of grey surrounded him. "Hmph!" He grunted.

Everyone covered himself or herself over from the unexpected move. "Smoke Bomb!" Shanks cried. However, as they covered over, they heard two very distinct voices and what was happening.

"Come with me, brat!"

"Let go of me, bastard!"

As the smoke cleared, they saw that Higuma was gone. Unfortunately, so was-

"LUFFY!" Shanks hollered. He immediately grabbed his temples and started to go crazy in fear. "This isn't good! They took Luffy! What do we do?!" He didn't stop asking these questions, which was ironic seeing his position

Beckman looked on as Lucky Roo had to try and calm the Captain down by suggesting some search parties. "That Captain…" He muttered, sighing; yet smiling. It was amusing that a guy, let alone a powerful captain like Shanks, could go from #1 Badass to Panic Button in mere seconds.

* * *

Out in the ocean, even further back than the Red Hair Pirates' ship, was a small dingy, where Higuma had escaped to with Luffy in capture. "HAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed. "We made a great escape! Who would have guessed a _Mountain Bandit_ would escape by boat into the ocean?!"

He looked down to Luffy, who was just getting his balance and tried to stand up. "As for you, I used you only as a hostage. Now that I'm out of reach, you're useless!"

Luffy was full on _pissed_ at this prick after all that had just happened. He wanted to get at least one hit on him. "Go to hell!" Luffy roared before giving a punch.

Higuma gave a simple "Heh." with a smirk before kicking Luffy off of the dingy before the boy could even land the hit. "Good riddance…" He spat.

Luffy's eyes started to water a bit. He remembered that Shanks said Devil Fruits prevent swimming, and he had taken a bath a couple days ago. Although it was just once, he knew he wouldn't be able to survive alone. He wouldn't be able to keep up. "Damn it!" He kept saying as he drew closer to the water. "Damn it!"

Higuma scoffed, though still smirking. "Brat." He spat again.

Luffy was only a few seconds of the water now. "You said they're cowards, yet you ran away and blamed me! I couldn't even get a hit, bastard!" As Higuma laughed evilly again, Luffy quickly reminisced the events that lead to here, beginning with that very laugh.

 _Makino had quickly taken the demand to mind. "Y-Yes! Right away!" When she got back, she had gotten about ten barrels, enough for everyone. As we speak, they were laughing to themselves about the pirate rundown._

" _Do you remember the expression on their faces the other day?" One of the bandits asked some of his fellow colleagues._

" _I know!" Another bandit laughed. "One bottle and he's silent! What a pussy!"_

 _Higuma smirked, yet frowned a little bit. "When I see a chicken like that, it pisses me to boiling point." He stated plainly. "Really wanted to kill him, too…" He put down his glass and fully smirked. "Pirates can do nothing more than_ act _cool."_

" _SHUT UP!"_

 _Higuma turned with a frown towards the source of the voice, which ended up being the small boy from the same day: Luffy. Said boy was being held back by Makino from getting to them for his own safety; though it did hold him back, it did little good overall._

" _Don't underestimate the Red Hair Pirates! They aren't cowards!" Luffy growled._

 _Makino continued to struggle holding him back. "Luffy, don't! Let it go!"_

 _Luffy didn't even listen. He was sick to death of these pricks. "_ _ **DON'T UNDERESTIMATE SHANKS!**_ _"_

 _SPLASH!_

Back to now, Luffy had just fallen in the water, gluging and barely able to breathe with his now extremely poor aquatic capability. What he could tell were two things. 1. Higuma continuously laughing about his –most likely- 57th murder, and how he had escaped such a situation, though he lost every man he had.

2\. What was behind Higuma, which made Luffy gasp in shock when he was lucky enough to get some air.

Said Mountain Bandit felt a strange presence behind him, as well as a shadow looming over him. "Eh?" He turned around very slowly to find what looked like a beast, and a horrifying one at that. It was a large creature known to most, that is, outside of the east blue due to being one of the weakest seas, as a Sea King, a large sea monster, each in different shapes, sizes, colours, etc. This one looked a lot like an oversized brown eel with the teeth of a Crocodile/Alligator. It also had light blue and white fins, along with red eyes.

This was the local Sea King of Fushia Village, the Lord of the Coast.

Higuma immediately turned pale. "Wh-Where did that thing come from?!" He cried. He obviously didn't expect this. It was also the last thing he ever said, as he screamed as the aggressive creature snapped its jaw down, eating Higuma whole as the Bandit screamed and destroying the boat; Luffy's currently only chance of slight survival.

After finishing its meal, the Lord's attention shifted to the splashing sound Luffy was emitting whilst the Devil Fruit User was trying to stay afloat, the former's eyes turning bloodthirsty and vertically sharp like a cat.

Luffy tried screaming "Somebody help!", but half of it was muffled and gurgled from the water being pushed and swallowed.

The Lord immediately started to dart towards Luffy underwater at high speeds, popping its upper fins every so often, much like a Jaws scene. After a few seconds, the head fully came up, jaw open and ready to eat Luffy like a morsel, causing the latter to scream bloody murder, which is what it would become.

 _SNAP!_

The jaw came down at maximum force. It tasted blood and flesh, as well as the crunch of bone. There was one difference, however: Luffy was still there, being held by something…

…Or to correct, someone…

As the Lord immediately pulled his head up and glared at the bod(y/ies), it saw the two males, one being supported by another.

Luffy looked up at the silhouette and almost immediately recognised it. "Shanks…" He muttered.

The Lord had already started to charge again, the same way as before, only the head was up the whole time.

Luffy began to cry a little at what he had just realised when he looked towards the Sea King charge towards them, but the real ignition before them was when he looked at Shanks, noticing something missing.

As Luffy and Shanks, said **Red Hair** looking slightly tense, but rather angry than anything, looked towards the Lord come charging towards them. The vicious beast opened his giant jaws ready to eat them whole.

Shanks had had enough. He had just lost something, he's had a long day, but on top of all that, he tried to hurt Luffy.

Shanks then emitted something powerful that from an outward position was a shockwave, but to anyone in particular, was a powerful force.

The Lord, now about 15 meters away, immediately froze, stopping its seemingly endless charge. As Luffy looked on in confusion and Shanks continued to glare at the monster, the Lord's eyes were shaking with intimidation. That was no ordinary glare. There was something else behind it.

Shanks' eyes then widened slightly as his pupils shrunk a bit. "Get lost…" He muttered, pretty much an order to the Sea King.

The Lord obviously wanted to consume them as a short but satisfying meal and be done with it, as would many Type C creatures in this world. But the look and power that man had forced it to reconsider rather painfully.

It was about ten more stressing seconds, Luffy welling up small tears from the whole ordeal, before the huge beast slowly turned around and then sped off into the horizon, causing small waves as in continued to move, considering it was an oversized eel. Silence overtook another ten seconds after that.

"Luffy…" Shanks decided to calmly break the silence. "I truly am in your debt…thank you…Makino told me everything. You stuck up for us, putting your own life on the line." He looked down to see a crying Luffy gripping his soaking shirt as they lay there in the ocean. He smiled. "Come on, Luffy, I thought you were a grown up. You can't cry over something like this…"

Luffy looked up to Shanks with puffy, wet eyes, as soaked as his own shirt. "But Shanks…" He hardly croaked "Your arm…" He cried softly. He then shouted it out again. "YOUR ARM!"

It was true. The Lord may have not eaten Luffy, but it did snag something: Shanks' left arm. It was now completely gone as a tarnished now short sleeve was dripping crimson blood into the ocean, fading into a mist of the sea.

Shanks looked at Luffy sympathetically. "Luffy…" He ushered. "It's just an arm. I still have another. What matters is that you're still alive."

Luffy couldn't take all this in. He almost died to a cocky bandit who was a coward, he almost got eaten be the local, extremely vicious, Sea King, and his role model had lost an arm because the latter had sacrificed it to save his life. In said shoes, it's hard to absorb that and leave with little scathe.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…" He cried his heart out from the emotions that flew through him like a storm.

 _This was the first of the three most emotional moments of his life_

* * *

"So you're finally leaving?"

It was time. After about a month since Shanks became a pseudo-paraplegic, the Red Hair Pirates were finally leaving Dawn Island, ready for their next adventures. They were currently packing their supplies onto their ship, crate after crate.

"Yeah." Shanks confirmed. "We've been here for quite a bit. About time we left and headed north." He turned to Luffy. "Why? You upset?"

Luffy continued to smile. "Yeah…but I'm not begging you to take me with you anymore." He replied, proud. "I'm going to become a pirate myself!"

Shanks poked out his tongue like a child. "I wouldn't take you anyhow!" He stated cockily, trying to rile the kid up. "You don't have what it takes to become a Pirate!"

Luffy immediately shot to his angry, full-toothed mouth from the beginning of this flashback. "YES I DO!" He shot back. "When I get older and begin my journey, I'll find a crew that's better than yours! And then I'll find the world's greatest treasure!" He shot his fists up as he screamed into the heavens his almost catchphrase. " **I'M GOING TO BECOME KING OF THE PIRATES!** "

Shanks smiled at the boy's ambition. "You want to be better than us, huh?" He grabbed his hat on his head, eyes shadowed over. "Well, in that case…"

He then did it. He placed it on Luffy's head, forming another Oda Dramaticy. "I give you this hat as a gift from myself."

Although Luffy's face was shadowed over from the nose up, as Shanks spoke, Luffy started to tear up about this. "This is my favourite hat. It's really special to me." He then removed his hand and walked off. "When you become a great Pirate, return that hat to me. That's our promise, Luffy…"

As he neared the ship, Beckman told him "That kid's going to be big.", which the Captain remarked that he knew, seeing as how similar Luffy was to his younger and Rookie years. That faded the Dramaticy.

As the ship left off and the townsfolk gave their happy farewells to the friendly crew, Luffy looked down at his hat and smiled…

* * *

…Just as he did now, giving his crew mates and friends his good old laugh and signature smile.

Natsu gave his own smile. "Never gets old, huh?" He asked.

Luffy looked down at his hat again with a warm smile. "Yeah." He replied, lost in thought.

Wendy had a really large smile. "Wow!" She exclaimed. She had her hands in front of her in fists close to each other a few inches in front of her chest, showing excitement. "I never would have thought the story would be that great!" She frowned a bit. "But it's sad to hear that your role model lost his arm. That was unfortunate."

Luffy looked up to her, smiling. "He said don't worry about it, so I will too!" He put the infamous Straw Hat back onto his head.

"Hey, Luffy." Said Captain turned to his latest crew member. "From what I heard, you wanted to become a better Pirate than Shanks, correct?"

Luffy nodded. "Yeah! I can't wait! Can't wait for the big one, huh?"

Zoro grabbed his white sword, still sheathed next to him. "Yeah." He confirmed. " _That's_ a fight I can't wait for." He smirked.

Carla perked her head up. "That reminds me." She stated. "I've wanted to ask: How did you two buffoons meet?"

Luffy and Natsu looked at each other from the question for a few seconds. Then both showed their signature grins. They then turned to the rest.

"You guys want to know, huh?" Natsu asked with a grin.

Wendy then had a thought herself. "Oh! How long ago was this?"

Happy shared that one. "About seven years ago, when Luffy was ten and Natsu, twelve. I wasn't there, though, hadn't hatched yet."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Hatched?"

Carla did as well. "You too?" A brief "Aye!" Confirmed this.

Wendy turned to the Santoryu man. "You see, species like Carla and Happy aren't born like normal cats. They hatch from large eggs."

Zoro put his hand to Wendy's face while looking straightforward into the distance. "Alright, I have now seen it all…" He groaned in agony.

"Alright, our turn!" Luffy cheered. "Oh, and Zoro, don't say that! We still have a huge adventure to do!"

Natsu straightened up. "Alright, it's like this. Seven years ago…"

* * *

In the middle of the forest in the mountains, Luffy was trying to find his way out, apparently calling for someone.

"HEEEEEEEYYY!" He called. He had on a simple yellow shirt and red beach shorts with his sandals and hat. "ANYONE THERE?!" If you asked him, he was trying to find someone in the forest that he got split up from. In reality, he was half that half lost. "Man, I gotta get back soon…" He groaned. "She is not gonna like this…"

As he turned to his right and ran for another five seconds, he heard the chimes of rustling leaves from above. He looked up, confused, but only saw the light of the sun, making it's way through the summer flakes of green leaves to the ground. He was in a fairly shady and cool area right now, but he cared little, and had as little time to notice. So he continued to run.

The rustling occurred again, only they sounded lower and closer. Luffy could have sworn he found a silhouette sway through the deep burden of a green trap.

"HEEEEEYY!" He called out to where he suspected he saw the silhouette. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!"

The rustling of the leaves didn't stop. It appeared they were going around Luffy from left to right, trying to avert Luffy somewhere else.

However, being the numb guy he was, having little direction, charged straightforward.

The chase continued. The rustling was left, he climbed up a tree. The rustling was below, he took a right. This happened for a good five minutes.

Eventually, Luffy was running straightforward once more. The exit was about a couple hundred meters off now. He took another right, and it all happened in the blink of an eye…

He ran into someone who was running straight on in the opposite direction he was.

After Luffy fell down, grabbing his head from the shock, though his rubber body prevented any real damage. He immediately shot up, pissed. "Alright, who did that?!" He demanded.

When he got up, so did a boy a little older than himself, about twelve. He was wearing a red long-sleeved shirt with small buttons, red matching tracksuits with a yellow star-like pattern, and dusty brown sandals.

Despite how awesome its shape was, when he saw the colour of his hair, he had to pout to suck in the air and to hold in his laughter. After a few seconds, he could no longer hold it in, bursting out laughing.

"YOUR HAIR IS PINK!" He laughed. He couldn't stop howling out and could barely breathe. He even coughed a few times.

This seemed to anger the boy, as he had an Oda Anger directly towards Luffy, and It. Was. _Intense_. "SHUT UP!" He demanded. "What's so bad about having pink hair?!"

Luffy immediately knew why, so he stated one of his many pointless reasons. "You look like a cherry!" He croaked through his laughter.

"CHERRYS ARE _RED_ , IDIOT!" The boy snapped.

Luffy seemed to hear that last part a little too well. "I am NOT an idiot!" He snapped.

"Yes you are!" The boy shot back.

"No, you are!"

"No, you are!"

"No, you!"

"No, you!"

"No, _you_!"

"No, YOU!"

And that's how it lead to them punching each other in a comical cloud all the way through the forest. They even went into a few trees, going directly through them and knocking them down. Eventually, they reached a hill, where they both fell down and rolled like logs.

After rolling for a good two minutes, they reached the bottom, so dirty they could fit as camouflage masters in the middle of a war.

Luffy got up, walking over to the boy. When he got to him, he sat down in front of him. "You okay?" He asked, completely forgetting what had just happened.

The boy got up and sat across from the boy. "Yeah…" He answered, slightly unsure.

Luffy immediately smiled. "Hi, I'm Luffy! Who the hell are you?" He introduced, though in a way only he and a few others would do.

The boy got up, as did Luffy. He held his hand out. "Natsu." He replied. Luffy immediately gave his hand, shaking Natsu's hard.

"Glad to meet you!" Luffy welcomed. "So, what are you doing in a forest in the middle of nowhere?" He was still smiling, despite his question.

Natsu frowned, crossing his arms. "I'm looking for my dad." He answered quietly.

Luffy was confused. "Your dad?"

"Yeah. He raised me. He taught me how to read, write, he even taught me how to fight! However, that day, a few months ago, he was gone. Nobody was there… I made a raft using some logs and vines from the forest on the island, and sailed to try and find him. Been looking ever since… He had the heart of a dragon… Hell, he pretty much _was_ a dragon! Though nobody believes me…"

Luffy was shocked. Someone had to deal with all of that through his or her life. He then quickly remembered the last thing he said.

"Your dad was a dragon?" He asked innocently.

"…Yeah…" Natsu answered, thinking this would end the same as it always did; call him a liar and walk off. He was prepared for it, finding a good way to escape through the trees, though there was also a path to the left through a cave-

"THAT'S SO COOL!" Luffy exclaimed with stars in his eyes.

Natsu was shocked. He actually believed him? He thought his dad was a dragon like he knew? He couldn't believe this!

"You believe me?" He asked, still shocked.

"Yeah!" Luffy replied. He then frowned. "Why? You're not lying, are you?"

Natsu turned to an Oda Anger. "WHY WOULD I LIE ABOUT MY OWN DAD?!" He shouted. He then hung his head down, tears forming a bit. "Still, nobody else believed me when I told them…" He silently spoke. "That's why I was shocked…you actually believed that my dad was pretty much a dragon…"

Luffy smiled. "You know, you're pretty awesome!" He concluded. "Hey, where do you live?" He asked suddenly.

Natsu frowned. "I don't have anywhere _to_ live. I'm searching all over, remember?" He explained.

Luffy frowned a bit. He then started to turn red. This made Natsu raise an eyebrow. He then turned blue.

"What are you doing?!" Natsu asked in fear. "Why are you holding your breath?!"

Luffy then heaved out a heap of air as he turned back to normal. "I was breathing…" Luffy huffed. "I was trying to think…"

Natsu's eyes widened at this. "Ouch…" He groaned.

Luffy's did to. "Hey, I got an idea!" He exclaimed. "When I'm older, I'm gonna become a Pirate!"

Natsu smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah! Join my crew!"

Natsu's eyebrow rose at this. "Huh?"

"Since I'm going to be a Pirate, that means lots of adventures everywhere! We can try and find your dad while we have our adventures!"

Natsu thought this through, though he had the same thinking issues his new friend did. After a a bit, he concluded. "That sounds pretty good!" He said. 'Alright, I'll join the crew!"

Luffy immediately smiled a huge one. "YEEEEEAAAAHHH!" He chanted. "My first crewmember! Wait till the others see this! They'll be so jealous!"

Natsu's stomach then roared itself. He fell over. "Sooo hungry…" He groaned with a pained face.

Luffy pulled him up and smiled. "When we get back, let's have an eating contest!" He challenged.

Natsu smirked at this. "You're on, rubber bastard!"

Luffy smirked back. "Glad to have you accept, pinkie!" They then ran on until they found a light, running through it waiting to introduce the new salamander to the others. But who are the others?

* * *

Back to reality, Natsu smiled. "Nothin' like a cliché meeting, huh?"

Zoro nodded. "Sounds it, but still." He commented. "The eating part isn't a surprise…"

Luffy laughed. "Yeah. We LOVE food!" He declared, raising his fists.

Everyone laughed, enjoying the mood. It was great to have people with a highly positive disposition. Especially if they were the leader.

That was when all their stomachs rumbled like tremors.

They all fell on their backs at this. "Sooooooo Hungryyyy…" That was what they all groaned.

They all looked like they were going to have their stomachs inverted and their throats slit, before having them being shat down and turned into dispensers for hobos. Trust me, it doesn't feel nice.

Wendy then felt a shadow go across her legs. "Hm?" She was curious, and then looked up at a figure in the sky. "What's that?"

Zoro looked up to where the girl was. It was a large avian with a curved beige beak, its covered in pink feathers, dark blue on the edge of its wings. It also had some feathers sticking up on its head.

Put simply, "It's a bird." Zoro concluded.

After a few seconds of silence, Luffy had an idea that would get them into something crazy again. "Let's eat it!" He suggested with another giant smile.

Wendy perked up. "That sounds like a good idea." She smiled.

"Aye, sir!" Happy agreed.

Zoro agreed himself, but was slightly confused about the process. "How do we catch it?" He asked.

Luffy turned to face the small sail. "Wet Fleek, Happy, grab on!" He declared, arms out.

Wendy went into flat tears with a Mashima Deadpan. "Someday, Wendy, someday…" She cried to herself with an unconscious smile, hoping Luffy would get her name right soon. Either way, she grabbed on to Luffy's shoulders and Happy followed suit.

Carla wasn't too keen on this. "You attack the law. Fitting for the situation. You allow them to come into contact with your body, especially your hair. Depends wether they actually hurt you, and even that is extremely dangerous. But this is too far, child!" She was furious, as Wendy was pretty much going to fly up above the ocean, especially as a Devil Fruit User. "You sit back down right now!"

"Don't bother!" Natsu smiled his signature. "You won't be able to change their minds even if you bribed 'em!"

The white cat frowned. "You have a point there…" She muttered in annoyance. She looked back to the three. "What could they be planning anyway?"

Luffy's stretching of his arms onto the top of the sail's wood was all the answer they needed for his next move. " **Gum-Gum Rocket!** " He then soared up to the bird shaped object in the air with Wendy and Happy on him.

Natsu smirked whilst looking up, Carla on his head. "Thought he's do that!" He said.

Zoro looked up with his right hand covering his eyes to see it through the sun. "Makes sense." He admitted.

When they got up there, though, there wasn't a crash noise into the bird. There was a clamp noise, a chomp more so. This caused Natsu to frown, Carla to sweat a little bit, and Zoro to go "Hm" in confusion.

What had happened was the bird was much bigger than them, about as big as the dingy. The bird, known as Monster Bird Pinky, had clamped onto Luffy's head, which was looking rather pained, but in reality, crooked and stuck. Wendy was clinging onto Luffy's left leg with round white eyes and an open mouth, slightly scared and taken aback. Happy was holding onto Luffy's right foot with a Mashima Deadpan, only the line was an actual line rather than just a sketch appearance.

The bird was already gilding off elsewhere. "HEEEEELLLLPP!" Luffy called out after screaming with the others.

Natsu was laughing his ass off at their misfortune, a natural thing for the two boys to go against each other, and would laugh it off in the end.

Zoro and Carla weren't so welcoming. Carla had a huge open mouth with no teeth and huge white eyes while Zoro had shark teeth and bulging eyes. " **IDIOTS!** " They roared.

They were already rowing. "Jeez, the damn idiot doesn't even think, does he?" Zoro asked, furious.

"Neither do I!" Natsu added, smiling.

" **NOT HELPING!** " Zoro shot back with an Oda Anger that would have made Shrek bow before the former's presence.

"Oi!" A voice called from up ahead. "Stop the boat!" There were now three voices calling exactly that.

Natsu and Zoro were rowing, and Carla had to navigate, as well as couldn't lift _that_ much, so they only had one choice.

"We can't pull over right now!" Zoro called out. "You want to get on, grab the boat as we come by!"

This shocked the three out there. "EH?!" So they 'attempted' to get on, which lead through high pace and screaming. The three barely made it on with the two boys and cat.

"Nice climbing skills!" Natsu complimented.

The three seemed unaffected by the flattery, or anything at this point. "ARE YOU TRYING TO FLATEN US INTO DOUGH FRY?!" They demanded, pissed.

They all got into battle stance, the front one with a beanie pulling out a full size bayonet. "Stop this boat." He demanded with a cold voice. "This is the territory of Pirate Captain **Buggy The Clown**. We'll be taking the boat now." He finished with a smirk, all of them snickering.

Before the next couple minutes, the three had no idea about the wrong choice of words they pulled out of the hat. Natsu and Zoro had one eye shadowed each and glared iron spears at the two with the unshadowed one each. " **The fuck…** " They asked threateningly.

With the three now rowing, laughing nervously from trying to rethink their little fuckup back there, and apologizing to Natsu, who was a powerful foe indeed, and Zoro, especially for not noticing the 'Pirate Hunter of the East Blue'.

Natsu realized something after Zoro told them to keep rowing to catch up to their friends. "That reminds me, how the hell did you get stuck all the way out here anyway?"

The three stopped rowing and began cheering. "HORAAH! HORAAH! THEY FINALLY ASKED IT!" They cheered. They then began to row again.

"The GIRL!" They immediately answered.

"The mean, but cute one!" The monobrow one added.

Whilst the beanie one beat down the monobrow, the orange haired man explained the story of how they got tricked into taking a chest and got capsized by the girl's techniques and ability to read weather. You don't know what happened/didn't read the first few paragraphs? YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE THIS FAR INTO THE CHAPTER!

After they finished, they were all impressed to say the least. "Damn…" Zoro thought. "Predicting weather… Sounds pretty unique, huh? Wonder if she might join us…"

The orange haired man immediately crunged. "Well if _I_ find her, I'll kill her!" He declared.

The beanie man turned to him. "You gotta remember, the treasure comes first." He explained.

The monobrow man started to sweat. "If we come back to Buggy empty handed, well be in deep-"

"Buggy?" The three protagonists asked.

"You've never heard of **Buggy The Clown**?" The orange haired man asked in slight shock.

The beanie man's expression changed drastically. "He's a dangerous and cynical man… Torturous and horrifying, along with the power of a Devil Fruit!"

This perked their attention. "A Devil Fruit User?" Zoro asked. Another one?

* * *

Outside the outskirts of Orange Town, a small area on Organ Island, a very large Pirate ship was moored. It was a brightly coloured ship, mainly purple on the base, with a few tents, the front with the crew's Jolly Roger, the only one visible due to the sails being furled up. The figurehead was a colourful elephant with a cannon for a trunk, with two cannons below it. This was the Buggy Pirates main ship, Big Top.

In town, a girl was running away from three men while holding a roll up paper. "Finally…" She heaved as she ran. "The navigation chart to the Grand Line…!"

The others were running, half scared as hell. "Damnit!" One yelled in frustration. "If we can't get that map back, we're going to have an ugly death…"

Meanwhile…

"Captain!" A voice called, spotting Pinky in the scope. "An unknown flying projectile is moving in the air!"

"Well? Shoot it down!" A voice demanded that sounded like the Joker.

"Yes sir!"

 _BANG!_

From above the chase in the streets, there was a loud explosion. The girl froze for a bit. It was then they all heard screaming from three individuals; two male, one female.

They then made impact with the ground, smashing into the concrete with the force of a bomb, causing smoke and dust to fly everywhere.

"What the?!" The girl questioned in shock of this all happening so quickly.

Eventually, three silhouettes appeared up, one of the somehow hovering. "Damn it, why did that cannon shoot us?" A male voice asked.

"I'm not sure…" A female one stated, just as surprised.

"Aye." A third voice joined in.

The dust cleared to reveal a boy with a straw hat, a girl with long blue hair in a dress, and a flying, talking blue cat with angel wings.

"Either way, we finally landed!" Luffy declared. "And that fall, was _awesome_!"

* * *

 **SONG OF THE DAY**

 **TheFatRat - Monody**

* * *

 **Well, there you have it. Luffy's past and a cliché meeting for the two main Protagonists! Also, I used some of _A Dragon Among The Straw Hats_ as an inspiration on that one. Either way, I think it turned out good!**

Michael Dorsey **\- To be honest, the _next_ villain one is still stuck for me... I do know the next crew member, though. All the way through to Arlong Park, actually. Still, glad you like it!**

Zack25King **\- Glad you understand the concepts so far. And yes, the whole guild would be WAY too many! I'm thinking most of the mains and a couple others, but that's for planning way up ahead. For now, just take the answer I gave Michael. Also, I haven't thought about a FT location yet. Thanks for the reminder!**

 **Well, I'm off to go cry in a hellfire (Or complete exams as you mortals call it) and will be back with the Orange Town arc! By the sounds of things, I'm thinking I may ahve to add a chapter to all East Blue arcs than what I was planning...**

 **Now get out of here and touch some sunlight, damnit!**


End file.
